Talkshow host's takedown of Miss America pageant hikes up donations for other women's causes
Last week, John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight, who is now famous for his epic rants on important issues, targeted the controversial Miss America pageant.
The pageant claimed that it was the largest provider of scholarships to women in America. But after some investigative journalism, Oliver discovered that it provided only a small fraction of the US$45 million (S$57 million) it claimed to offer.
What proceeded was an almost 10-minute long takedown that has since gone viral.
Oliver then rightly pointed out some worthy women's organisations that included the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Patsy Mink Foundation and the Jeannette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund.
SWE spokeswoman Kelly Janowski has reported that since the airing of the episode, the organisation has received almost $25,000. And this amount is about 15 percent of its expected annual donation amount.
Janowski added that this amount was raised in just two days.
She also said that SWE benefited from increased web traffic and saw an increase in social media by nearly 2,000 per cent.
Anyone thinks John Oliver is secretly a superhero?
Source: Chicago Tribune, Salon
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