John Oliver gloats over dismissal of defamation lawsuit by coal magnate

John Oliver opened Last Week Tonight with an update on the defamation lawsuit filed by coal magnate, Bob Murray. In June of 2017, Oliver called out Murray for his stance on health and safety regulations in mining, and he even taunted Murray with a giant squirrel named Mr. Nutter Butter. Oliver opened the show saying, “You may remember that last year, we did an episode on coal. We talked about this man, Bob Murray. We said a lot of things about him, culminating in a seven-foot squirrel telling him to eat sh*t.” At the time, Oliver knew a lawsuit was likely since Murray had already filed several lawsuits against newspapers and journalist in recent years. Oliver even warned Murray that there was no money in a frivolous lawsuit. It looks like the judge presiding over the case is siding with Oliver. Oliver said, “This week, we learned the judge has said he's going to dismiss it." Oliver warned however that the dismissal is not official yet and that it is too soon to gloat. He said, “Now is not the time for victory laps. It's not a time for gloating. It's not a time for saying, "Hey, we won," and just rubbing it in the face of the person who lost over and over again. That time will come. It will come.” But while Oliver's words were those of caution, the giant squirrel known as Mr. Nutter Butter returned. And he had a sign that said "Eat sh*t Bob!"