The episode marked British-American comedian and host John Oliver's response to winning a SLAPP defamation lawsuit against him initiated by American mining businessman Robert E. Murray.

in celebration of winning the lawsuit, invoking his right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to make negative jokes and comments about people and corporations.

On June 18, 2017, John Oliver hosted a Last Week Tonight segment titled "Coal", focusing on practices in the American coal-mining industry.

[4] Drawing on these two incidents, Oliver ended the segment by introducing a squirrel mascot known as "Mr. Nutterbutter" (played by Noel MacNeal) who taunted Murray by holding up an oversized check for "three acorns and eighteen cents" made out to "Eat Shit, Bob!".

[19] In August 2017, while the lawsuit was ongoing, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter in West Virginia filed an amicus brief on behalf of HBO.

[21] Due to the media coverage of the brief, Murray Energy filed a response, asking the court to disregard the ACLU's brief on the basis that they did not fully disclose a financial conflict of interest with Oliver's show.

Reuters, however, contended that Murray Energy did not provide suitable evidence for this claim; the response cited three news articles that did not support this argument, instead attributing the rise in donations to the result of the presidential election in general.

[24] Oliver cited the idea that "loose, figurative language" that cannot be understood as factual is protected under the First Amendment in order to create a musical number to end the episode.

[26] Initially set in his studio, it began with Oliver singing slowly that "even though he'll threaten legal Armageddon, we have just one tiny thing to say..." and then he gave the finger and exclaimed "Bob Murray can go fuck himself today!

"[23][27] Oliver then introduced the "Suck My Balls Bob Dancers”, who moved the setting to the streets of New York City as they and an increasing cast recounted fictional anecdotes of Murray committing outlandish and horrifying acts.

[28] They jokingly sung that he perpetrated the assault of Nancy Kerrigan, spat on the Mona Lisa, cut off Vincent van Gogh's ear, launched puppies into outer space, advised Adolf Hitler to quit painting and "find a new career", sold drugs to Bill Cosby and served as Jeffrey Epstein's prison guard, carried out the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and started World War I, inserted candy into his rectum in an M&M’s store, masturbates to Schindler’s List, had sexual intercourse with squirrels, and was the unidentified Zodiac Killer.

[13][23][27] Oliver centered portions of the song on his First Amendment rationale, saying that "we made up these anecdotes, they're silly and insane" and "If we discuss Bob Murray in a way no reasonable person could construe as factual, we can say whatever the fuck we like!"

Mr. Nutterbutter made a reappearance as part of a barbershop quartet in squirrel costumes, and Brian d'Arcy James appeared in the role of HBO's legal counsel.

Slate commented that just because Oliver gave an "impassioned speech standing up for all the small outlets and independent activists bullied into silence by SLAPP lawsuits", that does not mean he "has matured even a little bit".

[31] An editorial from the Charleston Gazette-Mail said that there was "a lesson in John Oliver roasting Bob Murray" in that it leads to the question of why states like West Virginia lack anti-SLAPP laws.

[32] A 2020 West Virginia University paper by Shine Sean Tu and Nicholas Stump referenced the defamation lawsuit as a case that "exhibits the classic anatomy of a SLAPP suit".