Oct 16, 2026 · 38 min · 18 segments
What happens when a late-night host dares a famous brand to take him to court? In this episode, we break down the legal fight behind the headlines, in plain English: \- What the "Buc-Off" parody…
Devin StoneHost
We love John Oliver because John Oliver doesn't give a, a hoot about legal advice.
His lawyers probably hate him because John loves legal stunts, and we love that for him.
And as we recently covered in July, John Oliver put a knockoff beaver on a T-shirt and publicly dared one of the largest convenience store chains in America to sue him over it.
And you might recall that Buc-ee's sued a mini mart in Beavercreek, Ohio instead, and now the internet is waiting to find out whether Buc-ee's will actually pick on someone his own size.
But this is not the first time that John Oliver has hilariously pointed out a legal absurdity or the first time he's invited someone to sue him over trademark or copyright law.
You might remember John has been baiting Disney to sue him for copyright infringement for years.
In an April 2023 segment, John discussed the upcoming expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright and then introduced a Mickey Mouse-like character as the show's new mascot, daring Disney lawyers to take action.
I thought I was in public domain until next year.
That's actually true, buddy.
We are pushing the limit a bit here.
[laughing] The point is, we are staking our claim to Mickey Mouse right now.
And I know Disney's lawyers might take the trademark angle and argue that this Mickey is closely associated with their brand, although they should know that he's pretty closely associated with our brand now, too.
And in February of 2024 when John later appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote season 11 of Last Week Tonight, he brought a friend along.
Uh, I see you brought a plus one.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, is, uh, is this, uh, is this Mickey from Steamboat Willie?
It is.
It's, uh, it's Steamboat Willie's Mickey Mouse, um, which is now available, uh, for public use.
It's not Mickey Mouse.
I can't stress that enough.
It's n-
Luck- luckily there's no resemblance, so there shouldn't be confusion.
And John openly taunted Disney, even presenting a promotional poster that featured Steamboat Mickey and asked, "What are they gonna do, sue?"
Yeah, so our, our poster this year, uh, features Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse, uh, here.
We love John Oliver because John Oliver doesn't give a, a hoot about legal advice.
His lawyers probably hate him because John loves legal stunts, and we love that for him.
And as we recently covered in July, John Oliver put a knockoff beaver on a T-shirt and publicly dared one of the largest convenience store chains in America to sue him over it.
And you might recall that Buc-ee's sued a mini mart in Beavercreek, Ohio instead, and now the internet is waiting to find out whether Buc-ee's will actually pick on someone his own size.
But this is not the first time that John Oliver has hilariously pointed out a legal absurdity or the first time he's invited someone to sue him over trademark or copyright law.
You might remember John has been baiting Disney to sue him for copyright infringement for years.
In an April 2023 segment, John discussed the upcoming expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright and then introduced a Mickey Mouse-like character as the show's new mascot, daring Disney lawyers to take action.
I thought I was in public domain until next year.
That's actually true, buddy.
We are pushing the limit a bit here.
[laughing] The point is, we are staking our claim to Mickey Mouse right now.
And I know Disney's lawyers might take the trademark angle and argue that this Mickey is closely associated with their brand, although they should know that he's pretty closely associated with our brand now, too.
And in February of 2024 when John later appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote season 11 of Last Week Tonight, he brought a friend along.
Uh, I see you brought a plus one.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, is, uh, is this, uh, is this Mickey from Steamboat Willie?
It is.
It's, uh, it's Steamboat Willie's Mickey Mouse, um, which is now available, uh, for public use.
It's not Mickey Mouse.
I can't stress that enough.
It's n-
Luck- luckily there's no resemblance, so there shouldn't be confusion.
And John openly taunted Disney, even presenting a promotional poster that featured Steamboat Mickey and asked, "What are they gonna do, sue?"
Yeah, so our, our poster this year, uh, features Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse, uh, here.
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