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:

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:

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:

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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