John Oliver Jabs at David Ellison's 'Business Daddy' Larry — SkimNews
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- John Oliver returned to HBO's 'Last Week Tonight' on Sunday after a monthlong summer break, opening with jokes ranging from Ted Cruz being booed on ESPN's 'College GameDay' to UnitedHealthcare's pattern of denying claims ahead of Luigi Mangione's December sentencing for killing CEO Brian Thompson.
- Oliver cited Kate Weissman's case, noting UnitedHealthcare denied her cancer treatments and forced her parents to spend $95,000 out-of-pocket; she is now cancer-free.
- Oliver cracked that David Ellison — CEO of Paramount Skydance, which is acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO's parent) for $110.9 billion in a deal working through the courts — would soon be his 'business daddy,' then aired a photo of David with his father Larry Ellison.
- Oliver joked that David Ellison has a 'literal business daddy' and took a jab at Stephen Colbert, saying 'I deeply respect that and I would never make fun of you for it, unlike that pesky Stephen Colbert.'
- Oliver renewed his 'Last Week Tonight' contract through 2027 in advance of the Ellisons' probable acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning he will work under their ownership when the deal closes.
Why it matters: Oliver just locked in a contract through 2027 with the same company whose new owner he is publicly ridiculing — once the $110.9 billion Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes, the comedian who mocked UnitedHealthcare's claim denials will be an employee of a media conglomerate run by the Ellisons, the very family he turned into a punchline.
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