What does John Oliver mean by this?
In the April 14 episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver says this (emphasis mine):
For legal reasons I have to tell you that the Sacklers and Purdue insist the family didn't cause the opioid crisis and vigorously deny the claims in the lawsuits we've mentioned...
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What does he mean by this? Is there some sort of regulation that the show would have to say what the Sacklers are defending themselves with? If so, what is it?
Best Answer
John Oliver is making it clear that he is repeating what other people are accusing the family of, not accusing them himself. To demonstrate that, he is presenting both sides. If he didn't, there is a chance he could get sued for slander, that is false defamatory statements (because he was presenting a single side as true.) That would mean HBO would either have to settle or prove that what he said was true.
He fairly frequently includes "to be fair" or "legally I have to say" at the end of his segments, providing a statement from the people/companies/etc denying what he said.
He has announced at least once on a lawsuit that resulted from things he said, about a coal industry titan. He hasn't said much except that it exists, as talking about an on-going lawsuit is one of the first things his lawyers told him not to do.
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Answer 2
There is a difference between reporting on claims, versus repeating claims. If Oliver is found to be repeating the claim, then he could be sued for liable. But if he is simply informing the viewers that someone has made a claim, he is not liable.
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