Responding to massive online criticism about proposed net neutrality rules, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler wants everyone to know, “I am not a dingo.”

A flood of online criticism about the rules recently caused the FCC website to crash after comedian John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, incited viewers like Internet trolls to post public comments on Wheeler’s controversial proposal.

“The Internet is not broken and the FCC is taking steps to fix that,” Oliver said on his show.

Oliver echoed concerns from numerous critics including Google that the rules could enable Internet service providers to charge for premium traffic, thus raising costs for consumers and increasing the costs of business for smaller companies that can’t afford to pay the fees.

During an episode of his news satire show, Oliver took aim at Wheeler’s past as a lobbyist for his willingness to take that risk with the proposed rules. Wheeler previously served as president of the lobbying group for the cable industry and as president for the lobbying arm of cellphone carriers.

“That is the equivalent of needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo,” Oliver said on his show, joking that the telecom companies are now “overseeing their own oversight.”

A reporter asked Wheeler about the sketch Friday, which elicited a laugh but also a defensive tone from the chairman.

“I would like to state for the record that I am not a dingo,” Wheeler said.

The sketch was “creative,” Wheeler said, adding that “it represents the high level of interest” on the topic of net neutrality. While the rules are being reviewed in the ongoing public comment period, Wheeler said the sketch overlooked the FCC’s goal of re-implementing open Internet protections that were struck down by a federal appeals court in January.

The goal of net neutrality rules is to prevent Internet service providers from blocking or slowing the content of rival websites, but Wheeler said because of the court decision “there are no open Internet requirements today.”