A health care insurance executive is suing Last Week Tonight host John Oliver for defamation after Oliver claimed the exec said it was OK to leave patients lying in their own waste.
Dr. Brian Morley, who was medical director at AmeriHealth Caritas, filed a lawsuit on March 29 alleging that HBO and Oliver’s production staffers “knowingly and falsely” portrayed him as saying “it’s OK if people have shit on them for days.” Morely added that Oliver purposefully misrepresented what he said to manufacture a fake viral moment, according to Mediaite.
Oliver launched a direct attack on Morley during one of his shows in April of last year and concluded his comedy bit saying, “Fuck that doctor with a rusty canoe,” and “I hope he gets tetanus of the balls.”
Oliver also railed that Morley “thinks it’s okay if people have shit on them for days.”
Morley says that his “reputation and personal well-being” were harmed by Oliver’s comedy bit because Oliver edited bits of Morley’s comments together to create the false impression that made Morley seem to be saying it is perfectly fine to leave patients who are infirm or immobile to lie in their waste for extended periods of time to make care cheaper.
The doctor says that he was not advocating for neglect, but only describing nuances of medical care. In his lawsuit, Morley said he was describing the situation when some people are unable to wipe themselves properly after using a bathroom, not saying that patients should be allowed to lie in their own feces.
Morley’s suit adds that he never said it is OK “or medically appropriate for individuals wearing diapers or who are otherwise immobile ‘to have shit on them for days,’” nor did he say is is “medically appropriate for anyone to sit or lay in their own feces, for days at a time or otherwise.”
In his show, Oliver spoke of patients who are unable to move or care for themselves being neglected because insurance companies won’t pay for their care. He then played a video clip of Morley saying, “People have bowel movements every day where they don’t completely clean themselves, and we don’t fuss over [them] too much.” And in another clip, Morley said, “People are allowed to be dirty… You know, I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple of days,” the Independent reported.
In his suit, Morley notes that what he actually said is that some people who don’t wipe properly do end up with some amount of feces on them and as long as they are mobile and clean themselves at some point, they are not necessarily in danger of health issues. In the filing, Morley says he was talking about “the average individual who is independently mobile but may not wipe perfectly — not someone who is wearing diapers or otherwise lying in their own bowel movements.”
Morley is demanding a retraction of Oliver’s attack and removal of the episode from all platforms. He is also asking for damages that would be decided by a jury.
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