Comedy legend John Cleese unleashed a verbal smackdown on easily-offended viewers and claimed that cancel culture is ruining comedy - and he’s absolutely right.
Talking to FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Cleese said that today’s moral climate has made it almost impossible for comedians to fully express themselves and that the backlash of being ‘canceled’ is a threat too great for most funnymen and women to test their best material. Comedians, considered a valuable escape from the pressures of life, are being cowed into submission by the omnipotent woke brigade.
Cleese mused: 'I think it's particularly worrying at the moment because you can only create an atmosphere of freedom, where you're not checking everything you say critically before you move on.’
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Completely Agree With Cleese
Cleese is absolutely on the money with his verdict. Modern comedians have been forced to adapt to a politically correct, left-leaning set of commandments and their jokes are perpetually analyzed by the public to ensure they’re sanitized, clean, and devoid of all real humor.
We’ve reached a point in society where comedians like Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Carr, and Dave Chappelle have found themselves in hot water for their jokes and old episodes of shows like Only Fools and Horses and Fawlty Towers are screened for ‘outdated’ material. Though I’ve never agreed with Cleese’s political views, I’m willing to hold my hands up and admit that he’s entirely correct on this one.
The Monty Python veteran, 82, admits that his fanbase is predominantly older and are, therefore, less sensitive to anti-PC jokes and outdated references. However, this isn’t to say his comedy is any less funny than it was back in the day. It is, in fact, quite the opposite.
Personal Woke Experience
Cleese himself had his microphone confiscated at a comedy panel earlier this year when he made a reference to the plight of Britons under the rule of the Romans and Normans in the days of antiquity. The jokes were considered offensive - something I find to be totally ridiculous considering Cleese was referencing events that happened before the Medieval period.
Being offended on other peoples’ behalf, the subjects live today or in the 10th century AD, is an art form that has been mastered by today’s residents and comedians like John Cleese represent the last of a dying breed.
He added: ‘’A lot of comedians now are sitting there and when they think of something, they say something like, "Can I get away with it? I don't think so. So and so got into trouble, and he said that, oh, she said that." You see what I mean? And that's the death of creativity.'’’
Comedians Should Not Face Censorship
Comedians should never be canceled for a joke they made or else comedy as we know it dies. When people pay to attend a show, they have the right to escape usual censorship and enjoy a few hours of unadulterated, no-holds-barred, banter. If the subject matter is too offensive for you, then don’t go. It’s as simple as that.
The comedy legend is on tour in Sweden, Estonia, Finland, and Germany later this year and is sure to tell a few crackers that’ll upset those with weak intestinal fortitude.
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