John Oliver show criticizing Modi blocked by Disney in India

HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” was blocked from appearing this week in India by a local streaming provider run by Disney after host John Oliver criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the episode.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Indian users of Hotstar, Disney’s streaming platform for the country, were unable to find the latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” as it aired on HBO in the U.S. and other countries Sunday evening.

A request for comment to Hotstar representatives from Bloomberg was not returned, but Indian government officials contended that no pressure had been put on the company to not air the episode.

In the episode, Oliver addressed President Trump’s two-day visit to the country this week as well as criticism of Modi’s government, telling viewers that “the only glimmer of hope here” in Trump’s visit was “that for perhaps the first time in Modi’s whole career, his actions are creating a massive and sustained backlash.”

News of the episode being pulled from the air in India comes after an episode of Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” was pulled from Netflix streaming services in Saudi Arabia due to Minhaj’s criticism of Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s crown prince.

Trump visited India this week as Modi’s guest. The visit was marked with violent demonstrations in New Delhi as protesters clashed with supporters of a new Indian citizenship law that favors non-Muslims.