John Oliver Prevails in Defamation Suit Over Last Week Tonight Medicaid Segment

A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against Oliver and his HBO show’s production company, Partially Important Productions, over a 2024 Medicaid segment—preserving what Oliver has described as the show’s undefeated record in court.

As is often the case with legal proceedings of this nature, the win was a long time coming. The segment at the center of the suit aired in April 2024. Dr. Brian Morley, a former medical director for AmeriHealth Caritas, filed his lawsuit nearly a year later, in March 2025. And now U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams has dismissed the case, more than two years after the original broadcast.

The segment itself was a characteristically blistering takedown of privatized Medicaid programs. As part of that critique, Oliver discussed the cancellation of nursing services for Louis Facenda, an Iowa man with cerebral palsy who, according to the segment, lost services including in-home bathing and diaper-changing after a managed care organization got involved.