Can the sin of omission serve as evidence of defamation? According to the former medical director of a managed care organization who was mocked by a hybrid news/comedy program using his own words, it absolutely can.
Dr. Brian Morley, currently a physician advisor at a hospital, filed a lawsuit against comedian John Oliver and the show's production company in federal court on March 28, 2025.
Alleging that Oliver and his show "Last Week Tonight" deliberately excluded sections of an excerpt of Morley speaking about aspects of the decision-making process to make him look bad, he's looking for damages in excess of $75,000 and the removal of the segment from the show's archives, website, and YouTube page.
Comedy and Journalism
Comedian John Oliver serves as the host, alternating scathing criticisms with self-deprecation and outlandish bits. According to Morley's lawsuit, "Last Week Tonight" averages four million viewers on the Max streaming service and had well over three million views on the episode he was featured in on YouTube. Oliver and "Last Week Tonight" have been nominated for 60 Emmys, winning 30.
Left Them Sitting in What?
"Last Week Tonight" is known for tackling timely and complicated topics such as sexual education in schools, student loans, and immigration. On April 14, 2024, the show's main story offered a look at Medicaid, questioning the bureaucracy behind over 11 million people being dropped and what could be done to address it.
While issues such as underfunding and difficulty gaining access to the program were examined, much of the episode's focus was on managed care organizations (MCOs). MCOs are private companies that take contracts from states to handle healthcare for Medicaid patients. They get paid a set amount per patient, and whatever doesn't get spent on medical care becomes profit for the MCOs.
The show zeroed in on Iowa, which had a 891% increase in denied healthcare requests for Medicaid patients in the first year under MCO AmeriHealth Caritas (AHC). Morley was AHC's medical director at the time. After telling the story of a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy who had home services cut under AHC, "Last Week Tonight" played an audio clip of Morley talking about a "similar" patient from a hearing:
"People have bowel movements every day where they don’t completely clean themselves, and we don’t fuss over [them] too much. People are allowed to be dirty … You know, I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple of days."
Oliver then claimed he listened to the entire clip to confirm that Morley had made the statement and affirmed that "he said it, he meant it, and it made me want to punch a hole in the wall."
Morley accuses Oliver and his production company of taking his words out of context and thus presenting a false representation of what he said. It alleges that the two patients were not similar and that Oliver omitted important details. The suit states that the full quote paints Morley in a much better light:
"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. People are allowed to be dirty. It’s when the dirty and the feces and the urine interfere with, you know, medical safety, like in someone who has concomitant comorbidities that you worry, but not in this specific case. I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple days."
Morley confirmed that he had spoken with a Partially Important Productions producer, who assured him that they had heard the entire testimony the doctor gave at the hearing. By using an edited clip, the lawsuit charges that the defendants are liable for causing injury to Morley's reputation through false statements.
Words, Words, Words
Citing derisive and inflammatory criticisms of Morley left in the comments section of the episode's YouTube posting, the suit seeks relief for defamation. While identifying a minimum of $75,000 in damages (the amount required for bringing a claim in federal court), it requests punitive damages as well.
Morley left AHC long before the episode aired. Neither Oliver nor his production company issued an immediate response to the lawsuit. This is not the first time "Last Week Tonight" has been sued for defamation. The show previously won a defamation claim against them in 2018, when an executive at a coal company similarly alleged one of the show's takedowns crossed the line.
In response to that lawsuit, "Last Week Tonight" staged an elaborate musical number mocking the executive. Given the show's irreverent history, rather than being cowed, another gaudy set piece might already be in the works.
Related Resources
- Are Reporters Liable for Getting a Story Wrong? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- When John Oliver Speaks, the Ninth Circuit Listens (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- The Real Dogs of Supreme Court Justices (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
