John Oliver jokes Kate Middleton could have died ‘18 months ago’: ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’
Oh, where have you gone, Kate?
Kate Middleton has been staying out of the limelight since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
While many have speculated on social media that the Princess of Wales, 42, has simply disappeared, comedian John Oliver believes that she is perfectly fine.
On Sunday, Middleton shared a photo for UK’s Mother’s Day, but the snapshot was riddled with editing mistakes and caused headline-making confusion.
“What the f–k is going on with Kate Middleton?” Andy Cohen asked Oliver on Tuesday.
“I was out. I thought, ‘Let’s all just ignore this. We’ve moved on,’ until the Photoshop thing,” Oliver, 46, replied during his appearance on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.”
“That feels, like, you’re almost handling it in an oppressive way at this point,” the “Last Week Tonight” host added.
The photo featured Middleton sitting down and smiling while surrounded by her children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
After the photo made the rounds online, and was subsequently recalled by news agencies that claimed the pic was “manipulated,” the Duchess of Cambridge herself took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday to explain why there were several alterations to the portrait.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” she wrote.
Several photo agencies, including Reuters, the Associated Press, Getty and AFP, sent out a “kill notification” asking news outlets to erase the photo from their systems as it appeared that it was digitally “manipulated.”
Speaking about the statement, Cohen asked Oliver: “Isn’t [the royal family’s] motto, ‘Never complain, never explain’?”
“There is a non-zero chance she died 18 months ago,” Oliver quipped. “They might be ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’-ing this situation. I’m not saying it happened, but I’m saying it’s non-zero until proven otherwise. Until we see her sitting there with a copy of the day’s paper.”
The British TV show host referenced the dark comedy “Weekend at Bernie’s,” which was released in 1989 and follows two insurance company employees who try to convince people that their boss Bernie is still alive well after he mysteriously died.
As for Middleton, Kensington Palace announced in January that she would be recovering at her home at Anmer Hall in Norfolk, England, and would not be returning to public duties until after Easter.
She was last spotted with husband Prince William leaving Windsor Castle on March 11 in the backseat of a car. However, some fans even think that photo was digitally altered.
