John Oliver throws sludge back at Danbury officials, demands sewage plant be named in his honor

John Oliver is putting the pressure on Danbury, Connecticut, city officials to make good their tongue-in-cheek threat to name a sewage plant in his honor.

The host of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" is offering a $50,000 donation to charity if the city actually follows through on the naming the facility The John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant. For real.

The city's mayor, Mark Boughton, posted a now-viral Facebook video Aug. 22, cheekily vowing to name the town's plant after Oliver once again ranted about the upscale city on his show.

"We are going to rename it the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant," Boughton said in the video post on his Facebook page, taken with the plant in the background. "Why? Because it's full of (expletive) just like you, John."

Boughton then told USA TODAY by email that the "tongue-in-cheek" video was a "joke to return volley" at Oliver for his expletive-laden city criticism.

Danbury city officials: Cheekily vow to name sewage plant after John Oliver following his anti-Danbury rant

On Sunday's show, Oliver went on another rant after playing a video of Boughton saying it was just a joke.

"Wait, so you’re not doing it? Aw, (expletive) you, Danbury," Oliver said. "You had the first good idea in your city’s history and you chickened out on the follow-through. What a classic Danbury move. Listen, I didn’t know that I wanted my name on your (expletive) factory, but now that you floated it as an option, it is all that I want."

Oliver offered to donate $55,000 to Danbury-area charities, including $25,000 to the Connecticut Food Bank, if the city renamed the plant after him. If not, Oliver said he would make charitable donations to "rival" towns including neighboring Waterbury and Torrington.

Oliver posted his picture in front of a John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant sign on the "Last Week Tonight" Facebook page, following up with the promise and threat.

"Your move, Danbury! If you follow through on your promise to name your sewage plant after John, this beautiful sign can be yours! If not, it'll go to one of the (better) towns in Connecticut," the post reads.

The mayor told the Associated Press Monday that city officials were considering Oliver’s offer and planned to respond by the end of the week. He said the City Council would have to approve any renaming of the sewage plant.

"I think it’s very generous and we appreciate that," Boughton said.

The mayor told USA TODAY to "stand by" as a new video will drop Thursday detailing the decision. On Thursday, Boughton captured the 2020 political vibe to point out on Twitter that his response was not coming.

"Working on our response for @iamjohnoliver coming soon (but not today)," Boughton tweeted.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Oliver insists Danbury city officials name sewage plant after him