Yahoo Movies John Oliver calls out new Warner Bros. Discovery bosses for 'burning down my network'
John Oliver has some thoughts about his new corporate overlords, and he made them known during Sunday's Last Week Tonight.
Oliver's episode was mostly dedicated to InfoWars host Alex Jones and the monkeypox situation, but one particular joke stood out from the pack.
While discussing monkeypox, he remarked, "We let the vaccine sit unused on a shelf in our reserves like an expired Chobani or a $90 million movie on HBO Max." The DC superhero movie Batgirl, said to have a budget of $90 million, was recently scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery despite it being deep into post-production. Oliver even shared an image of actress Leslie Grace as Batgirl when he pivoted to the joke.
HBO John Oliver comments on the recent actions by his new bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery.
"By the way, hi there, new business daddy!" Oliver continued. "Seems like you're doing a really great job. I do get the vague sense that you're burning down my network for the insurance money, but I'm sure that that will all pass."
Variety has reported that Warner Bros. Discovery axed Batgirl in part for tax write-offs.
A number of changes have been announced by the newly merged studio, including the cancelations of Batgirl, Wonder Twins, and a Scooby Doo movie. After being blindsided by the news, Grace and the Batgirl directors responded with shock and dismay.
When asked about his decision to shut down Batgirl, David Zaslav, the new President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said, "We're not going to launch a movie until it's ready. We're not going to launch a movie to make a quarter, and we're not going to put a movie out unless we believe in it."
It's also been reported that a number of movies have quietly disappeared from the HBO Max streaming service. The company made known its plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming platform by the summer of 2023.
Watch Oliver's joke at the 12:10 mark in the video above.
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