John Oliver, the British-American comedian and host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” is being sued for defamation. Dr. Brian Morley, former medical director of AmeriHealth Caritas, whistleblew the suit against him. The original lawsuit was filed in New York. It alleges that Oliver defamed Morley when she featured him in a segment on Medicaid and the plight of working-age Americans with disabilities.
The dispute centers around an episode aired on the popular late-night show, where Oliver quoted Morley’s comments from a 2017 administrative hearing. In this episode, he zeroed in on Morley’s quote. Morley recommended that it’s better to let a patient with bowel concerns be “a bit mucky for a few days.” Oliver posted her full statement with recent audio from the hearing. Morley feels this quote was repeatedly taken out of context, leading to the ongoing lawsuit.
Dr. Morley argues that Oliver’s subsequent depiction of his remarks was defamatory and harmed his reputation. The litigation argues that Oliver’s statements were false and in some cases deliberately designed to incite anger in HBO viewers.
“Defendants’ false accusations were designed to spark outrage, and they did.” – The suit
This is not the first occasion during which Oliver has put himself in the legal hot seat. In 2017, the CEO of a major coal company, Bob Murray, sued him. This lawsuit brought renewed attention to a long history of tumultuousness associated with his brash, boundary-pushing comedic persona.
In fact, on the most recent episode, Oliver said that when he first read Morley’s testimony, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He said on-air at the time that it was exactly that level of absurdity coming from a licensed physician to say that.
“Look, I’ll be honest, when I first heard that, I thought that has to be taken out of context. There is no way a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify in a hearing that he thinks it’s okay if people have shit on them for days.” – John Oliver
Oliver’s candid commentary did not stop at merely questioning Morley’s professionalism. He put on blast his disgust for the alleged comments made by the doc in a hilarious, but brutally honest, way.
“If I absolutely had to put it into words, I guess I’d say fuck that doctor with a rusty canoe, I hope he gets tetanus of the balls.” – John Oliver
The lawsuit requests damages in excess of $75,000, a request that speaks to the chilling effect of the allegations made against Oliver. It highlights the perils that public figures should expect when they make incendiary comments that draw widespread outrage and disgust.
Oliver is, I think, right to say that Morley’s comments very much warrant criticism. He understands it can be fairly complicated to interpret things in a medical context.
“And if he has a problem with my language there, I’d say I’m allowed to be dirty. People are allowed to be a little dirty sometimes; apparently that’s doctors’ fucking orders.” – John Oliver
Morley’s defense hinges almost entirely on his assertion that some medical conditions can excuse temporary lapses in hygiene practices. He now claims that his statements were taken out of context. He repeatedly argued that context is key to understanding the parochialism of his … Continued He defended that testimony, again and again.
“In certain cases, yes, with the patient with significant comorbidities, you would want to have someone wiping them and getting the feces off. But like I said, people have bowel movements every day where they don’t completely clean themselves and we don’t fuss over too much.” – Dr. Brian Morley
The impact of this lawsuit’s outcome could be much more far-reaching, as it may determine how public figures can speak about contentious issues in their opinion pieces. Whether we talk about the climate crisis or the future of our healthcare system, these are momentous times to be entering public discourse. Oliver’s case serves as a reminder of the legal consequences of satire and humor.