Danbury Mayor To Respond To John Oliver Offer On Sunday

DANBURY, CT — Mayor Mark Boughton announced Thursday that he would be responding to comedian John Oliver's offer to donate $55,000 to local charities in exchange for naming the sewage plant after him in a video he will release Sunday.

The mayor said he has an agreement with CT Capitol Report to air his video response on WTNH on Sunday morning. The video will also be available online.

Boughton said his decision has already been made, and "It's fair. It's something we can work through." When asked during the Facebook livestream why he was waiting until the last minute to deliver his decision, the mayor said, "We like drama."

Boughton first teased he would be delaying his response, originally promised for Thursday, on social media around 3 p.m.:

The response among Boughton's many followers was mixed, with the delay only serving to whet the appetites of many residents, while others wondered, as did Facebook fan Anita Fabian, "How hard is it to accept $55k in donations?"

Since making the offer on last Sunday's "Last Week Tonight" on HBO, Oliver has only fanned the flames of the peculiar rivalry in social media. He did graciously give props to both the Danbury Hat Tricks professional hockey team, who warned the comedian of the city's "proud history of beating the tar out of people," and 8-year-old local YouTube phenom Caio Ninja who accused the host of being "so yesterday," among other sleights:

Oliver complimented both of the city's defenders on Twitter, apparently amused that Danbury residents "continue to excel at short-form video." He could not, of course, let the compliment stand without backhanding in some more shade: