Monday, 8 August 2022

Deadline: John Oliver Slams New “Business Daddy” Warner Bros. Discovery: “I Get The Sense You’re Burning Down My Network For The Insurance Money”

Story from Deadline:

John Oliver took his first major swipe at his new “business daddy” Warner Bros. Discovery.

The host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight reveled in the cancellation of DC film Batgirl during a segment on Monkeypox.

While discussing how the U.S. government allowed Monkeypox vaccines to expire rather than help other countries in need, he likened it to the move this week by David Zaslav and co. to cancel the Leslie Grace-fronted feature.

“We let the vaccine sit unused on a shelf in our reserves, like an expired Chobani or a $90 million movie on HBO Max,” he said. “Hi there, new business daddy seems like you’re doing a really great job. I do get the vague sense that you’re burning down my network for the insurance money, but I’m sure that that will all pass.”

Oliver used to delight in slamming previous owners AT&T, regularly taunting his business daddy, by criticizing the company’s links to right wing cable network One America News (OAN), discussing its former status as a monopoly and calling out its silence over Texas’ abortion ban.

Speaking to Deadline earlier this year, Oliver encouraged Warner Bros. Discovery to follow AT&T’s “Victorian marriage” model and “leave us the f*ck alone.”

He told us that he had had no contact with the new owners and said if they ever tried to get in touch, he would send the email “straight to junk”.

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