Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 23, 2022

John Oliver
John Oliver

"SLAPP Suits" is a 2019 segment of HBO's news-satire television series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, focusing on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), expensive lawsuits designed to scare targets into silence. In the segment, host John Oliver (pictured) celebrated his victory in a SLAPP initiated by Robert E. Murray; the lawsuit followed Oliver's criticism of Murray and his coal-mining company in a 2017 episode that included a man in a giant squirrel costume holding up an oversized check made payable to "Eat Shit, Bob!" Murray's lawsuit sought monetary damages and a gag order on the episode. The case was dismissed in under a year. In "SLAPP Suits", Oliver highlights Murray's frivolous suits against others, including reputable newspapers and private citizens, and stages a musical number titled "Eat Shit, Bob!", in which he jokingly accuses Murray of committing outlandish acts such as spitting on the Mona Lisa and shooting puppies into outer space. (Full article...)

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