John Cleese has cancelled himself in an odd protest against cancel culture, “blacklisting” himself from an event at Cambridge University after its debating society banned a historian who offended students with a Hitler impression.
Writing on Twitter, the comedian - who attended the university in the 1960s - said he had cancelled an upcoming talk after art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon was added to a new blacklist, because he had also done an impression of the dictator in a Monty Python show.
He said:
I was looking forward to talking to students at the Cambridge Union this Friday, but I hear that someone there has been blacklisted for doing an
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 10, 2021
impersonation of Hitler
I regret that I did the same on a Monty Python show, so I am blacklisting myself before someone else does
He added that blacklisting someone for impersonating Hitler was an example of “woke rules”.
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I apologise to anyone at Cambridge who was hoping to talk with me, but perhaps some of you can find a venue where woke rules do not apply
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 10, 2021
The person he appeared to be referring to, Graham-Dixon made his bad taste impression while speaking at a debate about good taste at the university last week. The Daily Mail reported that his impression was as follows:
“The romantic tradition of German art was rejected by this modern art.
“This modern, horrible art that was promoted by the Jews... and the modern art, it was cubist - inspired by the art of the ne***s.
“This tribal art, urgh, how horrible is that? We must expunge this from our Deutschland.
“We are the pure, Aryan people. Our genetics is pure, our hearts must be pure, our tastes must be pure.”
He said he was trying to “underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler” but apologised for offending people and society president Keir Bradwell said he would subsequently be banned from the society, calling his comments “thoughtless and grotesque” in an open letter to students at the institution.
In his apology Graham-Dixon said: “In my speech I caricatured him (Hitler), briefly, paraphrasing HIS crass and insensitive statements about art and race.”
He said it was not his intention to upset but to persuade the audience “that bad taste and bad morality often go hand-in-hand”.
“I apologise sincerely to anyone who found my debating tactics and use of Hitler’s own language distressing; on reflection I can see that some of the words I used, even in quotation, are inherently offensive,” he added.
Speaking to the BBC, about his blacklisting, he added: “Mr Bradwell’s implication that I am a racist and anti-Semitic by placing me on his list is utterly rejected and in the context, surprising.
“The speech I gave was a strident attack on Hitler’s racism and anti-Semitism.”
Meanwhile, Cleese has frequently spoken out in support of free speech and against culture and even has a Channel 4 documentary, John Cleese: Cancel Me, coming out. He has impersonated the Nazi leader in both a sketch in Monty Python’s Flying Circus and an episode of Fawlty Towers - the latter episode was removed from TV recently because it also included a racial slur, then reinstated (or uncancelled) following a backlash.
And so as the cancel culture despiser... cancelled his talk, people spotted the irony of the situation and mocked Cleese:
Standing up against cancel culture by...
— Tmccreight25 (@Tmccreight25) November 10, 2021
*checks notes*
Cancelling yourself? https://t.co/ruzDODd7yq
Cancelled by the woke again 😆 no wait it's just them doing it to themselves again https://t.co/mNMM80Mb7I
— Vallion N3M0 Goodall (@GoodallN3m0) November 10, 2021
John Cleese pic.twitter.com/QYmhJKc8c4
— Jesse (@TheBrownTownSSJ) November 10, 2021
To be fair, the new John Cleese's skit of cancelling himself then claiming to be the victim of bullying is the funniest thing he's done in 30 years.
— Ally Fogg (@AllyFogg) November 10, 2021
John Cleese stands up against cancel culture by... em... cancelling a talk because he doesn't agree with them https://t.co/FjfGrZjMkS
— csparks1234 (@csparks1234) November 10, 2021
Cancelling yourself pre-emptively to show how bad cancel culture has become is just incredibly funny. https://t.co/cQKEZ7r3jq
— John Lubbock (@jwsal) November 10, 2021
so John Cleese cancels himself in protest at "woke" cancel culture except it turns out the Cambridge Union guy who did the cancelling is actually... a Tory 🤦♂️
— dave ❄️ 🥕 🧻 (@davemacladd) November 10, 2021
excuse me while I just lie down for a year or so to try and process this
Meanwhile, his supporters gave him a massive pat on the back for sticking it to those silly old sausages getting their knickers in a twist about a little genocidal dictator banter:
Love John Cleese. 👏👏 https://t.co/6vqu4DUfot
— Christina Jordan (@CJordanjb) November 10, 2021
All respect to @JohnCleese.https://t.co/Hy2dkp0DlT
— Stephen Phillips 🖥 (@uk_sf_writer) November 10, 2021
Come and talk to us instead! We'd love to hear you speak and can cope with the odd Hitler impression too (not obligatory). pic.twitter.com/mtT1S6zeVY
— Free Speech Champions (@speechchampions) November 10, 2021
The Mail reports that representatives for Cleese and the Cambridge Union are yet to confirm if the event has been cancelled.
Indy100 has contacted them to comment on this story.
