Last Week Tonight with John Oliver sued (predictably) over coal segment

In the middle of his segment on coal during this past episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the show’s host made one thing clear: He expected a lawsuit, given that he was threatened with legal action leading up to it. Bob Murray and Murray Energy (in addition to other companies) were not altogether thrilled with his depiction of them on the show.

As a result of that, we now have this. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the aforementioned energy company has filed suit in West Virginia alleging that Oliver defamed them in the segment, and suggested that the working conditions were unsafe and/or that workers were not treated properly. Oh, and there’s also this:

“Defendants continued their ruthless character assassination and attack on Plaintiffs’ business reputations by describing Mr. Murray as someone who ‘looks like a geriatric Dr. Evil’ and arranging for a staff member to dress up in a squirrel costume and deliver the message ‘Eat S–t, Bob!’ to Mr. Murray.”

HBO, meanwhile, isn’t too concerned about facing any sort of significant loss in the case, stating (per The Daily Beast) that “while we have not seen the complaint, we have confidence in the staff of Last Week Tonight and do not believe anything in the show this week violated Mr. Murray’s or Murray Energy’s rights.” This is going to be an interesting case from the vantage point of seeing what is defamation as opposed to comedy or satire; it’s honestly surprising that someone hasn’t hit up Oliver’s show before now, but the whole point of what he does is humor with a news / analysis angle to it. The entire idea of him calling Murray Dr. Evil doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that can be tangibly contested in a courtroom, given that this is clearly just silly satire. The other parts of the piece could be what create a little bit more of a debate, but Oliver also used a lot of data and information as evidence of some of his claims.

Another interesting litmus test of the severity of this case could be just how much it is addressed further on Last Week Tonight itself. After all, one of the things that you do have to remember is that Oliver tends to be a bit brazen when challenged. If it’s not brought up, it may be taken a little more seriously than otherwise.

Have a reaction to the case being filed? Share in the comments below right now!

Meanwhile, head over to this link in the event you want our take on the comedy of the piece from this weekend. (Photo: HBO.)