John Oliver Calls Out “Soon-To-Be Business Daddy” David Ellison & Throws Stephen Colbert Under The Bus

John Oliver took a dig at “soon-to-be business daddy” David Ellison on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight.

The comedian is known to take jabs at his “business daddies,” and amid the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, Oliver took a swipe at Ellison.

While discussing UnitedHealthcare and its denial of insurance claims, Oliver gave an example of a patient who had to pay $95,000 out of pocket for cancer treatment after a claim was denied.

“Having access to wealthy parents just cannot be the system to get badly needed healthcare even if it is apparently the system that lets you be in charge of HBO,” Oliver said. “Yeah, my soon-to-be business daddy has a literal business daddy. And to be very clear, I deeply respect that and I would never make fun of you for it, unlike that pesky Stephen Colbert.”

Colbert ended his run as host of The Late Show earlier this year amid Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount and after Colbert called the CBS parent company, which settled a lawsuit with Donald Trump, a “big fat bribe.” The merger between Skydance and Paramount Global would close a month after the show was confirmed to be ending.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS said in a statement. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late-night television.”

Watch the latest episode of Last Week Tonight in the video below.