John Oliver rarely shies away from making jokes about anyone on his popular weekly talk show, Last Week Tonight. The Daily Show alum is known for breaking down serious subject matter from around the world and hilariously making the news accessible for the average viewer. The acclaimed host has chastised quite a few people in his time, but his latest callout may be one of his most surprising. On the show's season finale this past Sunday, Oliver talked about the Qatar World Cup, during which he hilariously blasted HBO's "business daddy," Warner Bros. Discovery.
During a Last Week Tonight segment, John Oliver noted that it's unlikely for an individual to speak out against a company that they are affiliated with, as it can result in a loss of sponsorships. He applied that thinking to soccer player Lionel Messi and his relationship with Qatar Airways. But in a surprise move, Oliver decided to prove he was willing to criticize his own parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, proving the late night host isn’t afraid to go after anyone. He joked:
People don’t generally openly shit on their employers unless, of course, that employer is Warner Bros. Discovery. In which case, you can happily shit away because apparently, they’re too busy canceling shows to notice.
This is a reference to HBO Max having cancelled a slew of projects and removed a large chunk of original content. This all happened ahead of a promised merger between the aforementioned service and Discovery+. Shows like 12 Dates of Christmas and Genera+ion, and many other notable Max titles were removed, including movies like Moonshot and An American Pickle. And of course, there's even the scrapped Batgirl movie, which had been filmed before the company pulled the plug on it. Clearly, the talk show host has been taking notice of all of this.
As previously mentioned, John Oliver has made jokes about major corporations. He went after WWE and their internal practices on his show, prompting a negative response from the company’s head Vince McMahon. Oliver also went after mining tycoon Robert E. Murray during an episode, resulting in a defamation lawsuit against the HBO host. The media personality later took that educated the public on SLAPP suits after the lawsuit was dismissed. While Oliver may make jokes about his parent company, the Community alum appears to be mostly grateful for the coporation, which he previously said backed him during the high-profile lawsuit.
Despite the fact that the star makes jokes about his “business daddies” AT&T and Warner Bros. Discovery, one would think that the companies are also happy to have the satirical comic in their employ. After all, his show has won the Emmy in its category every year since 2015 and remains one of the most popular shows on its premium cable network home. He's clearly an asset for the companies, so I can't see them getting to miffed by his comments.
HBO Max subscribers can catch all previous episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. For more information about shows coming to streaming later this year, make sure you check out CinemaBlend’s fall TV premiere schedule.
