Monty Python Co-Founder John Cleese Under Fire for Repeating Opinion That “London is No Longer an English city”
Monty Python co-founder and Winnie The Pooh (2011) actor John Cleese has become the subject of criticism after reiterating a claim he made in 2011 by recently stating that “London was not really an English city any more.”
On May 28th, Cleese posted a tweet to his personal Twitter account which lamented the confirmation of his previous claim and pointed out that London featured the strongest numbers in support of remaining a part of the European Union:
Some years ago I opined that London was not really an English city any more
Since then, virtually all my friends from abroad have confirmed my observation
So there must be some truth in it…
I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 29, 2019
This statement led to harsh criticism and accusations of racism and xenophobia towards Cleese by various individuals across social media, chief among them London Mayor Sadiq Khan:
These comments make John Cleese sound like he’s in character as Basil Fawlty.
Londoners know that our diversity is our greatest strength. We are proudly the English capital, a European city and a global hub. https://t.co/ZRkNKF3n38
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) May 29, 2019
Cleese first made his feelings towards the current state of London in a 2011 appearance on Australian television, stating that he’s “not sure what’s going on in London because London is no longer an English city” and that while he “[loves] having different cultures around,” he noted that “when the parent culture kind of dissipates you’re left thinking ‘well, what’s going on?’. Similarly, these statements were met with harsh criticism from the London public, including then-Mayor Boris Johnson.
However, Cleese would not back down from his stance in the face of said criticism, as he denied that his dissatisfaction was based in bigotry and elaborated on why he enjoyed his current residence, the Nevis island in the Caribbean, in comparison to his native London:
I suspect I should apologise for my affection for the Englishness of my upbringing,
but in some ways I found it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less tabloid, and less money-oriented than the one that is replacing it https://t.co/ZntbORfQdW— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 29, 2019
It might interest those people who seem to think my remarks about London
are racist as opposed to culturalist, to consider that what I like about spending time in Nevis.Nevis has excellent race relations, a very well educated population, no sign of political correctness……
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 29, 2019
……no sign of Rupert Murdoch, conscientious lawyers, a relaxed and humorous life style, a deep love of cricket, and a complete lack of knife crime
And, of course, wonderful weather
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 29, 2019
And the icing on the cake is that Nevis is not the world centre for Russian dirty money laundering
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 29, 2019
I think it’s legitimate to prefer one culture to another
For example, I prefer cultures that do not tolerate female genital mutilation.
Will this will be considered racist by all those who hover, eagerly hoping that someone will offend them – on someone else’s behalf, naturally https://t.co/4WbZDFjs3o
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) May 30, 2019
What do you make of Cleese’s initial statement and then his response to those who were accusing him of bigotry?
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