John Oliver Slams Disney For Censoring His Show in India

John Oliver slammed Disney-owned Hotstar on Sunday for censoring his show, “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” in India saying the local streaming service had edited at least three of his episodes in recent months. From a report: A recent episode of “Last Week Tonight,” in which Oliver criticised the Indian government’s recent policies and its leader, Narendra Modi, never aired on Hotstar, which is the exclusive syndicating partner for most of HBO’s content in India. [The same episode is available unedited on YouTube.] Oliver also referenced an episode of the show from late last year where he had mocked Disney, a segment he said was cleverly edited before streaming in India. And then, another instance in a segment focused on China’s one-child policy in which he joked about Donald Duck’s penis. That was also edited before going up for streaming in India, Oliver said. “They cut out a joke about Mickey Mouse being a cocaine addict. Why would they do that? It’s hard to say. But it might be because Hotstar is owned by Disney and they seem extra sensitive to Disney references,” said Oliver.