John Oliver Eats Giant Deising Bear and Pledges $10,000 Donation to Peoples’ Place in Kingston, New York

A week-long fake fight between HBO host John Oliver and a family bakery in Kingston has reached a hilarious conclusion.

“Last Week Tonight” host Oliver ended his fake fight with staff at Deising’s Bakery and Restaurant by announcing a donation to a local food pantry and taking a bite out of the back of his a giant cake bearing the image of the host.

“We did it!” shouted Oliver as he closed Sunday night’s show with frosting on his face and glasses.

The story quickly spiraled out of control since Oliver’s June 2 segment on the failure and dismemberment of Red Lobster’s assets and the News 12 story that sparked a friendly fight between Oliver and Deising.

“We went to one (of the auctions) for the contents of this red lobster in Kingston, New York, and we (expletive censored) won everything inside!” Oliver said.

News 12 reported how Deising co-owner Eric Deising left a note on the restaurant’s door asking to purchase his flat top grill and convection oven, only to later learn that the Last Week Tonight crew already had it bought.

Although the Red Lobster’s contents had already been given away, Oliver said he would offer Deising a brand new grill and oven on the condition that the bakery made and sold cakes with Oliver’s face on them.

“I don’t like cupcake bears,” he said in response to an online critic who shared a photo of Deising’s cupcake bears. “I love (expletive deleted) cupcake bears!”

Within hours, Peter Deising, co-owner of Deising, and a team of bakers and decorators had a batch of John Oliver Bear Cakes in their window.

The bakery received calls from around the world asking if the cake bears could be shipped (they can’t), visits from people living hundreds of miles away, and interview requests from several media outlets.

“We feel very good,” Peter Deising said Monday. “Definitely tired, but ultimately worth it.”

Deising’s sold about 2,500 John Oliver Cake Bears, Peter Deising said, with all proceeds going to Peoples’ Place Food Pantry in downtown Kingston.

“We don’t have a number yet,” Eric Deising said, “but it will probably be in the $15,000 range.”

“The community we live in are the people who caused all of this,” said Christine Hein, executive director of Peoples Place, “because they rallied around this and everyone wanted a cake bear John Oliver.

During last night’s show, Oliver pledged an additional $10,000 donation to Peoples’ Place, drawing applause from his studio audience.

He then dug into the special cake bear, about two feet tall with the requested big butt, made especially for Oliver by Deising’s.

“I don’t know how you could actually pay for the kind of publicity we got from this, so it’s been great,” Eric Deising said of the experience.

“It really is a win-win situation for everyone,” Peter Deising said. “A win for the community, a win for Deising, a win for John Oliver.”

The owners announced Monday that they plan to make about 800 more John Oliver bears, which could last until Tuesday.

Guess who else could be a cake bear?


When News 12 reporter Ben Nandy arrived in Deisings Monday morning to produce his fourth story on the bear cake saga, staff surprised him with Ben Nandy bear cakes.

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