The CEO of America’s largest privately owned coal company wants to silence HBO host John Oliver while a lawsuit he brought against the comedian makes its way through court.
Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy Corp., sued Oliver for defamation earlier this month after Oliver mocked the coal company on his show, “Last Week Tonight.”
According to the Daily Beast, Murray’s lawyers filed a motion in Marshall County Circuit Court in West Virginia on June 28, asking the judge to bar HBO from re-airing the June 18 episode of Oliver’s show, and to prevent the comedian and the other defendants (including the show’s writers) from discussing the lawsuit in public.
Murray’s lawyers claim to Judge Jeffrey Cramer that Oliver incited his audience to “vigilantism.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, HBO called Murray Energy’s request “a dangerous and unprecedented violation of the First Amendment rights of HBO, John Oliver and the show, and we look forward to presenting our case in court.”
Murray Energy Corp. has a history of issuing lawsuits against the media, including a recent one against the New York Times for defamation.
The segment in question was focused on the coal industry and promises made to it by President Trump.
