Robert E. Murray, founder and chief executive of Murray Energy, the largest privately held coal mining company in the US, is suing John Oliver, HBO, Time Warner, and the writers of the “Last Week Tonight” show over an episode on the coal mining industry that aired on Sunday night.
The lawsuit for defamation is against John Oliver, the writers of Oliver’s show “Last Week Tonight”, HBO and Time Warner.
Murray’s suit, filed on Wednesday in West Virginia, claims that host Oliver, the show’s writers, HBO, and Time Warner executed “a meticulously planned attempt to assassinate the character of and reputation of Mr. Robert E. Murray and his companies” by broadcasting the segment that heavily criticized the coal industry and Murray, the Daily Beast reported.
The suit goes on saying the defendants “did this to a man who needs a lung transplant, a man who does not expect to live to see the end of this case,” but nonetheless a man who “has built a strong reputation as one of the as one of the staunchest defenders and most ardent champions of the United States coal industry and America itself.”
The polemic episode has been taken down from all social media outlets.
(Image: Last Week Tonight | Twitter.)
Olivier knew a lawsuit was a strong possibility. During the episode, which has now been taken down, he said that when his team contacted Murray Energy for the piece, the company replied with a letter asking them to “cease and desist from any effort to defame, harass, or otherwise injure Mr. Murray or Murray Energy,” adding that failure to do so would result “in immediate litigation.”
The suit claims Oliver created a “villainous” portrait of Murray, 77, who “needs a lung transplant” and who “does not expect to live to see the end of this case.”
The comedian even called Murray, 77, a “geriatric Dr. Evil” and said the businessman treated his employees poorly, UPROXX reports.
This is not the first very public lawsuit Murray Energy files against those it considers to be jeopardizing the future of the coal industry. In 2015, the company sued the Obama administration itself over new ozone standards it claimed would harm the sector even further.
Coal production in the US has fallen dramatically over the past few years and today’s higher prices may not translate into a reversal of this trend. American coal production in 2016 was 746m tonnes, down from over a 1B tons in 2014 according to EIA estimates. Coal consumption fell over the same period from 917m to 737m tons, while coal exports nearly halved to 58m tons.
12 Comments
George Mealler
The video has NOT been taken down. Here’s a YouTube like to the portion specifically about Mr. Murray:
https://youtu.be/aw6RsUhw1Q8?t=15m7s
Andrew
I think its safe to say Robert Murray does look, and act like a geriatric Dr. Evil… and that’s putting it nicely. Given the recent plummet in coal price he must be looking to make a buck somehow.
John Roberts
I would never work for Robert Murray. At least in Australia we have mining companies who lead the world in safety practices.
jorge
Yeeap…YOU get it… I’ve worked for both…. And as much as they claim the contrary… The safety system is decades ahead of what Murray uses…
Restless Boomers
Murray needs to tone his act down. Bullying by lawsuit isn’t doing him or the coal industry any good.
jorge
Someone here gets it….
Itabirite
I worked in the coal industry for many years, and everyone I knew in the business cringed at Murray’s behavior. He had no regard for safety whatsoever.
jorge
Of course….he is an old shoot-from-the-hip person….
martin
About time that ignorant twat got slapped with a lawsuit. Sick of these clowns pretending to be comedy but actually politicos. Whatever happened to fart jokes and making fun of fat people??
ISZ
The part about Murray was mainly calling him out for profiteering and shirking mine safety while he claims it is all about saving mining jobs. FOLLOW THE MONEY. Not to mention, if you voluntarily go on national talk shows you know backlash will be coming.
And I’m not a tree hugging snowflake, my job depends on coal mining.
Art Easian
The entire mining industry needs to man-up. As a group you have not made the slightest attempt to defend the industry, but more importantly all the spin-offs that depend upon mining, the people you employ, the ancillary support industries that depend upon you. Coal, oil, gold, base metals are hiding under the bed waiting for the environmental lobby groups to wither and blow away. Well they won’t and you need to use common sense and explain the cost-benefit equation to everyone. If you cannot grow it, you must mine it. The total footprint of the oil sands in 0.07% of Alberta; the entire mining industry of BC is similar 0.07 % of the province (7/10,000); the Stillwater mine has a footprint of one square mile. Defend yourself.
nathan rotstein
Oliver should go back to britain and criticize the british coal miners. He should also call p.m. may an %!#×%#$ a__hole.
The brits can have him. How is he allowed to stay in the u.s.?
He is a foul mouthed , ignorant piece of crap. Where are the immigration police.