Movies

John Oliver sued by healthcare boss he rebuked on air over ‘bowel movement’ comments

BBG News

Previously held executive in the health insurance sector has initiated a court case over alleged defamation, suing comedian and Emmy award-winning host of “Last Week Tonight”, John Oliver.

On Friday, Dr. Brian Morley, who was previously a hospital administrator and medical director at AmeriHealth Caritas in Iowa, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. This legal action is based on an episode of “Last Week Tonight” that aired in April 2024, which had a theme related to Medicaid. The complaint, examined by The Times, claims that John Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” producer Partially Important Productions associated Dr. Morley with a significant reduction in Medicaid services and accused him of finding it acceptable for people to go without care for extended periods.

On Wednesday, the lawyer for Morley didn’t offer a statement to The Times, and so far, there’s been no reply from a representative of Oliver regarding a request for comment.

Politics

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In the lawsuit filed by Morley, the key episode aired on April 14, 2024, and focused on the topic of Medicaid. During this broadcast, which can be found on both HBO and YouTube, Oliver delved into the financial practices of healthcare companies that reduce costs and their impact on patients from different regions. In this segment, Oliver clarified the function of managed care organizations (MCOs) in the health system and showcased a video report from a media outlet about diminishing patient care. This 2018 news clip depicted Louis, a cerebral palsy patient from Iowa, whose healthcare was adversely affected due to MCO involvement.

Individuals typically have daily bowel movements without thoroughly cleaning themselves, and we don’t make a big deal out of it. Patients are allowed to be somewhat unclean. I would permit him to remain slightly dirty for a couple of days.

The quote sparked a significant response from the audience of “Last Week Tonight,” causing Oliver to express his belief that Morley’s comments were misunderstood. He initially found it hard to believe that a doctor, a licensed physician, would testify at a hearing that they thought it was acceptable for people to be soiled for extended periods. Later in the segment, Oliver revealed that his team had reviewed the full hearing and confirmed that Morley indeed made the controversial statement.

Hollywood Inc.

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Oliver expressed that he was genuinely upset by it, and it left him feeling so aggravated that he considered making a hole in the wall,” Oliver stated. The broadcast then revisited the 2018 video featuring Louis and his mother, both displaying disapproval towards Morley’s remarks. In the lawsuit filed on Friday, the host of “Last Week Tonight” had some strong criticisms for Morley, which were highlighted in the legal document.

I’ve found myself expressing that the allegations made against me by the defendants were strategically crafted to provoke anger, and indeed, they succeeded in doing so.

The baseless claims made by the Defendants were so reprehensible that John Oliver, in a calculated move to boost ratings and profits, publicly expressed his anger towards Dr. Morley using crude language, saying ‘I hope he gets a severe case of tetanus in his private areas.’ However, this apparent outrage was fabricated, causing harm to Dr. Morley’s reputation and personal life.

In the lawsuit, Morley claimed that Oliver and “Last Week Tonight” wrongly portrayed him as the symbol of reduced Medicaid care and increased cost-cutting expenses. Additionally, the lawsuit raised doubts about whether “Last Week Tonight” had accurately represented Morley’s comments from 2017 and ignored crucial details from the April episode hearing.

As a dedicated movie-goer, I’d rephrase that as follows: In the legal battle at hand, it’s claimed that the creators of “Last Week Tonight” portrayed untruthful and harmful statements about me. Specifically, they suggested that I neglected care for the person named Louis and/or another individual similar to him in my testimony, and furthermore, that I endorsed leaving patients who use diapers or can’t bathe themselves to sit in their own waste for extended periods of time.

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As a movie critic, I’d rephrase it this way: In a recent legal filing, it’s been claimed that the team behind “Last Week Tonight” accessed and scrutinized an extensive audio recording of the 2017 hearing. A senior news producer from the show is said to have admitted to this fact in private conversations with John Oliver (Morley). The lawsuit suggests that Morley made some rather indelicate comments regarding a hypothetical individual, who, though mobile and capable of transferring themselves to the toilet, might have struggled to fully clean up following a bowel movement. However, according to the lawsuit, “Last Week Tonight” failed to disclose this particular detail in their broadcast.

He claimed that the show’s producers were either careless, aware of untruthfulness, or deliberately indifferent towards the truth.

Additionally, Morley claims that a “Last Week Tonight” news producer declined to meet when he proposed to clarify his remarks. Furthermore, the defendants are said to have rejected Morley’s October 2024 demand for them to retract their allegedly false and defamatory statements.

Morley is asking for a certain, undisclosed sum in compensation, covering legal costs as well. Furthermore, he wants the judges to instruct “Last Week Tonight” to take down the alleged false and harmful statements across all platforms and prohibit them from re-publishing these statements. He desires a trial to address this issue.

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2025-04-03 01:01

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