“As a comedian, you’re kind of trained to avoid authority,” says Oliver, photographed March 15 atop CBS Broadcast Center in New York. “So to suddenly be the authority is a very, very bizarre situation.”

John Oliver wasted no time in addressing the biggest controversy of the weekend in the premiere of his late-night show, Last Week Tonight.

The former Daily Show correspondent kicked off his HBO on Sunday night by taking a jab at Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers who is at the center of controversy following a leaked audio recording in which he made inflammatory and racist remarks.

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"It turned out to be a rough week for unrepentant racists and recording devices," Oliver quipped.

He then showed a news report wherein the reporter noted that Sterling became upset after his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, posted a photo of herself with Magic Johnson on Instagram.

"Wow, that is genuinely shocking: An 80-year-old man knows about Instagram," he wisecracked.

He then went on a lengthy bit about a major election happening in India and how the U.S. media has pretty much ignored it but showed other reports out of the U.S. about a "crazy" incident in India in which a leopard escaped.

"It's not crazy: Leopards are indigenous to India," Oliver joked in response. "If it were a leopard in Times Square on New Year's Eve, that would be crazy. That would be insane."

He then showed a photo of a leopard in Times Square with Ryan Seacrest and said, "You get him."

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Oliver also showed a report out of India that implied that Fox News, in all seriousness, is "famous for its shouting matches."

"Congratulations, Fox, you're famous internationally for shouting," he said. "By the way, they don't even get Fox in India, they just hear them from across the ocean."

He continued by showing reports out of India that were similar in nature to Fox News' coverage of major events and implied that the media there is trying to be more like the cable news network.

"But," he added, "you've forgotten one crucial detail here, India, because if you really want to Americanize your media, there is one thing you have to do, and that is stop covering the India election."

Another bit was called "John McCain Tells the Same Joke Six Different Times in Six Different Places." The Arizona senator was then seen making some version of the statement "Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country" in multiple interviews.

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Oliver also sat down with Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency, for a taped interview. A la The Daily Show, Oliver asked a series of comical questions in which Alexander managed to keep a straight face through most of the interview.

Last Week Tonight airs at 11 p.m. Sundays on HBO.