John Oliver brought Fox News Channel to the mat on Sunday night during the season 10 premiere of Last Week Tonight.
At the helm of his HBO talk show, which has been on hiatus since November, Oliver brought up the court filings released last week in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News related to the 2020 voter fraud claims.
Dominion Voting Systems, which sells electronic voting hardware and software, is suing Fox News and parent company Fox Corporation, alleging some Fox News employees deliberately reinforced false claims that Dominion altered votes in the 2020 election and that Fox guests had a platform to do so necessary to make false and defamatory statements.
The court filings allege that Fox News anchors had serious concerns about allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, made by guests who were allies of former President Donald Trump.
“Sidney Powell is lying” because he has evidence of voter fraud, Tucker Carlson told a producer about the attorney on Nov. 16, 2020, according to an excerpt from a sealed exhibit. Carlson also called Powell an “unguided missile” and “dangerous as hell” in a text. Meanwhile, Laura Ingraham told Carlson that Powell was “a complete nutcase.” Nobody will work with her. Ditto with Rudy,” in reference to former New York Mayor and Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani. And Sean Hannity said in an affidavit, “This whole narrative that Sidney pushed, I didn’t believe it for a second,” according to Dominion’s filing.
Oliver began his Last Week Tonight section by joking that Fox News “the name itself is a lie, as it delivers neither news nor foxes”.
Oliver showed a CNN report from hosts, including Ingraham, noting that “disturbing irregularities have been found and require a full investigation”.
Oliver said: “Wow, if I were a Fox viewer I would feel quite betrayed by that. It’s like finding out that Big Bird regularly texts Elmo, ‘Fuck them kids,’ and Elmo agrees.”
Returning to the Fox News hosts, Oliver noted that the court filings “show the extent to which the Fox News hosts didn’t believe the shit they were selling, which is totally fine when you work for QVC and an hour.” about why a jeweled squatty potty will save your life, but it’s a little more concerning when you’re pretending to be the news.”
Oliver also pointed to claims in the court filing accusing Fox News anchors of being concerned about losing viewers to right-wing channels like Newsmax, with internal communications between Hannity and a producer noting that their “best minutes” the “voting irregularities” were .”
Oliver then said he understood the need to keep viewers engaged, noting that he and his Last Week Tonight team are also under pressure to keep people tuned in. The difference? “We’re doing it the old-fashioned way, having integrity, self-respect and blind luck to air prestige drama right after hits that people really want to see. It’s not difficult,” he quipped as the title cards of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Succession and The Last of Us flashed on screen – all shows that aired or were aired after Last Week Tonight.
“Several Fox presenters appear to see telling the truth as a potentially existential threat,” Oliver said. He then showed a clip of a CNN report that said Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich reviewed a Trump tweet about the annihilation of votes, prompting Carlson to text colleagues: “Please fire her.” Seriously… what the heck?… It’s doing measurable harm to the company. The share price has gone down.”
Oliver said: “As outrageous as that is, it’s definitely being followed up as Fox News’ list of felony crimes seems to be ‘making the stock price go down’ or ‘being a sexual monster for decades’ (but only if People outside the company are find out).’”
Fox News lawyers have argued in a countersuit that the lawsuit is an attack on the First Amendment. They said Dominion has developed “novel libel theories” and is targeting a “staggering” damage figure aimed at making headlines, crippling protected speech and enriching Dominion’s private-equity owner Staple Street Capital Partners.
Fox’s attorneys also said in their own summary judgment that Carlson repeatedly challenged Powell’s claims on his shows. They also wrote that when election technology companies denied the allegations made by Trump and his deputies, Fox News aired those denials, while some Fox News anchors offered protected opinion commentary on Trump’s allegations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.