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Piers Morgan praises John Cleese for response to ‘cancel culture c**p’ as he ‘blacklists himself’ over past Hitler jokes
John Cleese ‘blacklisted himself’ over past Hitler jokes (Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Piers Morgan took to Twitter to praise John Cleese for his response to ‘absurd campus cancel culture c**p’ after the actor ‘blacklisted’ himself over past jokes.
The actor, 82, pulled out of a speech to students at Cambridge University after the union’s president banned a speaker for impersonating Hitler, which John had also done in both Fawlty Towers and Monty Python.
He tweeted: ‘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 impersonation of Hitler.
‘I regret that I did the same on a Monty Python show, so I am blacklisting myself before someone else does.’
Piers responded to the tweet, writing: ‘Bravo, Mr Cleese. (Words I never thought I’d write, but this is an admirable response to yet more absurd campus cancel culture c**p.)’
Andrew Graham-Dixon, an art historian, had been banned from speaking at the society after he performed a mock Hitler-style rant during a debate last week.
The decision had been emailed to members of the union by its president Keir Bradwell, who announced plans to create a ‘blacklist’ of speakers who were banned.
Andrew had responded to the decision, telling the BBC: ‘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.’
Piers Morgan had a rare moment of agreement with the actor (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
He added in a statement that he had been ‘briefly paraphrasing HIS [Hitler’s] crass and insensitive statements about art and race,’ and his intention was not to upset but to show the audience that ‘bad taste and bad morality often go hand-in-hand.’
The statement added: ‘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.’
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John, meanwhile, has been outspoken about his objection to ‘cancel culture’, even bringing out a new documentary called Cancel Me.
Cancel Me will reportedly see John explore ‘why a new ‘woke’ generation is trying to rewrite the rules on what can and can’t be said’ and speaking to people who have fallen victim to being ‘cancelled’.
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MORE : John Cleese ‘blacklists’ himself and pulls out of Cambridge talk over ‘woke rules’
