Watch John Oliver (iamjohnoliver) jump through some legal hoops and confront a litigious old foe on 'Last Week Tonight' (LastWeekTonight):
through the two-year legal debacle. Oliver has been unable to discuss the proceedings or Murray since, but as Murray recently dropped the lawsuit, Oliver prepared quite a show for this special day.
The main subject of the night wasn’t Murray directly, but rather something he employs on the regular: SLAPP suits. SLAAP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, which Oliver explains to be frivolous suits with no legal merit designed to stifle public debate or dissent.
These numbers sound ridiculous to the point of hilarity, but SLAAP suits force dragged-out legal quagmires on people who may have far less resources than the plaintiff with which to fight them. Residents of Uniontown, Ala., were sued for $30 million after posting concerns on Facebook about toxic coal ash dumped in their town. The ACLU stepped in to defend these residents and the suit was dropped, but it nonetheless left a mark on the psyches of the residents who were speaking up.
Murray has sued at least nine journalists, not just Oliver, from 2001 to 2015, and has thus created a “culture of fear” that leaves both reporters and civilians afraid to talk about him. Oliver, for one, has had enough of it. Oliver points out that the Supreme Court has consistently defended the use of “loose, figurative language that cannot reasonably be understood to convey facts,” and takes full advantage for a fantastic finish that makes this episode one of his best.
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