John Oliver Skewers CNN For Running Applebees Ad During Attack On Ukraine

A Last Week Tonight montage brilliantly demonstrated how a recent Applebees ad may have been the worst-timed commercial in history.

John Oliver opened his HBO show on Sunday night with a segment about Russias invasion of Ukraine , and the Emmy-winning host couldnt help but tackle how CNN somehow managed to make its coverage of air-raid sirens blaring in Kyiv even worse by transitioning from the devastating scene to an aggressively American ad.

The Applebees spot, which went viral last week, features a man Oliver refers to as a human boot barn shaking his nonexistent ass to the tune of Zac Brown Bands Chicken Fried.

The abrupt cutaway from the somber Ukraine footage to the ridiculous ad could have come straight from 2006s Idiocracy.

WW3 sponsored by Applebees.

Were living in an episode of South Park.

pic.twitter.com/Ex5MTM2krr

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WW3 sponsored by Applebees.

Were living in an episode of South Park.

pic.twitter.com/Ex5MTM2krr
NUFF (@nuffsaidny) February 24, 2022

Soon after the spot went viral last week, Applebees acknowledged that the ad placement was inappropriate and said it never should have been aired and Oliver pointed out the significance of the company doing this.

You know if Applebees is apologizing for interrupting the coverage of Russia invading Ukraine, this week got seriously out of hand, he said.

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Yet the Last Week Tonight crew couldnt help but emphasize the truly bonkers timing of the Applebees ad by inserting it into some other historic news scenarios. You can watch the bit below.

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