John Oliver is closing out 2025 in true John Oliver fashion by going big and bold. He’s putting 65 of Last Week Tonight’s wildest props up for auction to raise money for public broadcasting.
John Oliver launches an auction in support of public broadcasting
In his final episode of 2025, Oliver laid out just how badly public TV and radio stations have been hit after the massive federal funding cuts. Then he shared his plan: the “John Oliver’s Junk” auction.
He shared that the idea came from the Bob Ross estate, which recently sold three original Ross paintings and pulled in $662,000 for public broadcasting. The move comes after the Trump administration slashed $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, leaving smaller stations scrambling to stay afloat.
One of the biggest eye-catchers in the 65-item lineup is an original 1987 Bob Ross painting, “Cabin at Sunset,” which had already climbed to $51,000 when the auction went live. Oliver also said that his team has collected a ton of “weird” stuff on this show over the years.
“We’ve actually accumulated a bunch of weird artifacts on this show over the years that we could definitely auction off to raise some much needed money,” the iconic host said. “I am proud to announce Last Week Tonight’s first-ever auction in aid of public media. This is real!” ( via Variety)
The auction stays open until November 24, and every dollar goes to the Public Media Bridge Fund to help local stations keep their lights on.
Fans of Last Week Tonight will instantly recognize a bunch of the wild props. These include Russell Crowe’s jockstrap, the one Oliver bought during Crowe’s “Art of Divorce” sale, to Mrs. Cabbage Oliver, his hilarious on-screen “wife” from the AI art bit. There’s also a gold-plated replica of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s testicles from that presidential library spoof.
Up for grabs also are the golden Adidas sneakers Oliver swore he’d wear if Sepp Blatter ever stepped down, five wax U.S. presidents, VIP taping tickets, and a wine collection cheekily titled Cabernet SauvignJohn.
Oliver spent a big chunk of the episode breaking down why public broadcasting actually matters. He pointed out that these stations do way more than people realize. They offer multilingual shows, deliver emergency alerts, and often keep local investigative reporting alive.
By slashing the CPB budget, he explained, stations will end up leaning harder on national content from big cities like New York.
