John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” refused to let Fusion’s Jorge Ramos stick him with the label “journalist”–and especially not “respected journalist.”
Ramos, who noted recent exclusive interviews Oliver has done, including NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, said “you have more credibility than most journalists here in the United States and, I would say, in many other countries.”
Oliver said that speaks volumes about journalism in America, and not about him. “I’m doing the job of a comedian. So, I make jokes about the news…That is more an insult to the current state of journalism than it is a compliment for the state of comedy.”
Ramos, meanwhile, who was a key presenter at Fusion’s upfront presentation this week, shared honors with Oliver as one of the TIME 100 honorees. In Ramos’ speech, he spoke out for fired Mexican journalists who had reported on corruption.