'Monty Python' Comedian Slams Woke Libs for 'Transphobia' Accusation
English actor John Cleese let loose on sensitive members of the progressive left last week over widespread social media accusations of anti-trans bigotry.
The LGBT community and its allies have bombarded Cleese with aggressive public reprimand, scandalized by the actor’s defense of English best-seller J.K. Rowling, who divided her fan base this year with the apparently shocking suggestion that men are not women and women are not men.
But famous for his role in the sketch comedy classic “Monty Python,” Cleese has remained flippant in the face of controversy, prodding emotional members of his Twitter audience with unfiltered riffs on the topic of transgenderism.
“Deep down, I want to be a Cambodian police woman,” the actor wrote last Sunday. “Is that allowed, or am I being unrealistic ?”
Deep down, I want to be a Cambodian police woman
Is that allowed, or am I being unrealistic ? https://t.co/oGPwEWJM9a
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 22, 2020
The admittedly rough remark came in response to several months of user comments denouncing the actor as “transphobic,” hateful and controlling.
Cleese was not without a heart for individuals struggling with gender identity disorder, however, pointing to deeply held and incredibly public progressive values while also reminding onlookers that his personal opinions and open jests did not come from a place of ill-will toward any one community. He was a comedian defending free speech and having a laugh.
“I’m afraid I’m not that interested in trans folks. I just hope they’re happy and that people treat them kindly,” Cleese wrote. “Right now I’m more focussed on threats to democracy in America, the rampant corruption in the UK, the appalling British Press, the revelations about police brutality…
“Covid19, the incompetence of the British government, China’s complete disregard for the necessity to abandon fossil fuels, the developments in France between Macron and Islamicists, diabetes, and the recent deaths of several of my close friends,” the actor went on.
“Does [that] sound hard-hearted ?”
Dear Twits, I have added my name to the signatories of the letter in solidarity with JKRowling
Proud to be in the distinguished company of Ian McEwan, Andrew Davies, Frances Welch, Lionel Shriver, Ben Miller, Tom Stoppard, Frances Barber, Griff Rhys-Jones and Matthew d’Ancona
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 30, 2020
Of course, the comedian’s willingness to stand firm on the subject would only earn him a handful more allegations of hard-heartedness.
Those allegations began piling up by the thousand in late September when Cleese outed himself as one of several high-profile signatories to a letter of support for Rowling.
“Dear Twits, I have added my name to the signatories of the letter in solidarity with JKRowling,” Cleese wrote on Twitter.
“Proud to be in the distinguished company of Ian McEwan, Andrew Davies, Frances Welch, Lionel Shriver, Ben Miller, Tom Stoppard, Frances Barber, Griff Rhys-Jones and Matthew d’Ancona.”
Rowling had reheated months-old controversy over the summer when she suggested recently popularized inclusive terms like “people who menstruate” minimize the female experience and hurt the cause of biological women in an attempt to normalize transgenderism.
The novelist’s statement — one of several made in a similar vein this past year — left her short of allies in Hollywood and the modern literary world. Even actors from the film adaptation of Rowling’s hit series “Harry Potter” were quick to lambaste her on social media in response.
If you can’t control your own emotions, you’re forced to control other people’s behaviour
That’s why the touchiest, most oversensitive and easily upset must not set the standard for the rest of us https://t.co/bAX5zT0ja7
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) November 22, 2020
The resulting calls for Rowling’s cancellation have, as in other instances, polarized a handful of high-profile Hollywood figures, however, prompting vocal pushback against social justice culture.
In a July sit-down with Reuters, Cleese cemented his stance with regard to political correctness, suggesting the concept “misunderstands the main purposes of life which is to have fun.”
“Everything humorous is critical,” Cleese said, astutely pointing out that humor can cut both ways politically. “If you have someone who is perfectly kind and intelligent and flexible and who always behaves appropriately, they’re not funny. Funniness is about people who don’t do that, like Trump.”
He would go on to add that those who cannot take their turn as the butt of a joke should not be made arbiters of what is acceptable for the rest of us. Tantrum-throwing children don’t make decisions for their parents after all.
“If you can’t control your own emotions, you’re forced to control other people’s behaviour,” the actor reiterated last Sunday on Twitter.
“That’s why the touchiest, most oversensitive and easily upset must not set the standard for the rest of us.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
