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With the Paramount-Skydance merger set to close this week, John Oliver<\/a> used his show\u2019s opening title sequence last night to shade the soon-to-be combined company and its new Trump-aligned leadership.<\/p>\n Last Week Tonight<\/a>\u2018s encyclopedia-inspired title sequence ended with a jab at the merger, depicting the traditional Paramount mountain iconography stamped with the Skydance logo.<\/p>\n As is tradition with Oliver\u2019s title graphics, the image included both a label and a mock Latin name.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s entry was labeled \u201cParamount-Skydance Merger,\u201d with the Latin designation Ignominiam\u2014a clear play on \u201cignominy,\u201d meaning disgrace or shame.<\/p>\n Screenshot: HBO <\/p>\n While the Last Week Tonight team refreshes the show\u2019s open each season, the final graphic is updated weekly, giving the show a moment to poke fun at current events. Recent entries have referenced the record heat wave, soccer player Diogo Jota, and Jeff Bezos\u2019 wedding to Lauren S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t Oliver\u2019s first dig at the long-gestating deal. Back in May, he went after Paramount Chair Shari Redstone<\/a> following the abrupt resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who cited unprecedented interference from the network as it pursued FCC approval. (Paramount ultimately paid Donald Trump $16 million to settle what many called a baseless lawsuit over alleged deceptive editing in a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.)<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s the Stephen Colbert of it all. Though Oliver has only briefly acknowledged the cancellation of The Late Show on air\u2014offering a quick mention at the top of last week\u2019s episode\u2014he\u2019s clearly on Team Colbert. He addressed the show\u2019s fate at a press conference last month in Erie, PA<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I love Stephen, all of his staff. I love that show. It\u2019s incredibly sad,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cThe late-night shows mean a lot to me\u2014not just \u2019cause I work in them, but because even growing up in England, I would watch Letterman, which of course was Stephen\u2019s show, and think, oh, what a glamorous world that was.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/VS-MAX-LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver-S12E19August32025DeferredProsecutionAgreements-022-1-1024x576.j.jpeg\")
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