'Monty Python's John Cleese a 'Liberal' Despite Right-Leaning Network Gig

Monty Python star John Cleese has called himself an "old-fashioned liberal" while announcing that he's launching a show on a right-leaning British TV network.

The comedian, 82, signed up to host a new show in 2023 on GB News, a network that features a mix of news and opinion and has been widely described as taking on a conservative stance in its programming since its June 2021 launch.

Cleese made the announcement during an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 show Today, with the new gig marking his first stint on British screens since appearing on the sitcom Hold the Sunset in 2019.

During his interview with journalist Amol Rajan on Monday, Cleese insisted that GB News is not "right-wing," while also describing himself as an "old-fashioned liberal."

The Fawlty Towers creator explained how his job came about, saying: "I was approached and I didn't know who they were...And then I met one or two of the [GB News] people concerned and had dinner with them, and I liked them very much. And what they said was: 'People say it's the right-wing channel– it's a free speech channel.'"

On the possibility of having his show on another station, Cleese criticized the BBC during his appearance on one of the broadcasting giant's radio networks.

"The BBC have not come to me and said: 'Would you like to have some one-hour shows?' And if they did, I would say: 'Not on your nelly!' Because I wouldn't get five minutes into the first show before I'd been cancelled or censored," he said.

Cleese said later in the interview that his classic comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which debuted in 1969, likely would not have been made by the BBC today, "because it's six white people, five of whom went to Oxbridge."

"If people enjoy something, then the BBC should be making more of it," he said. "And if people don't enjoy something, they should probably be making less of it. But their job is to produce the best possible programs."

GB News lost U.S. media group Warner Bros Discovery as one of its shareholders earlier this year amid a shakeup of directors and continued profit loss. After a patchy start, the network has gained a growing following.

One of the network's presenters, Mark Stern, is under investigation by media regulator Ofcom for a potential breach of standards after claiming on his show earlier this year that the COVID-19 booster vaccine increased people's chances of dying.

Discussing whether free speech should extend to spreading possible misinformation regarding public health issues, Cleese said on Monday: "If there's a factual response to something like that, then that should be made. That's the job, to put the facts out there, and then to have opinions slightly separate and have a proper argument about it, but not to try to avoid a public debate."

Newsweek reached out to representatives of GB News and Cleese for comment.

In March, Cleese defended himself from backlash after making a joke about slavery during a panel discussion at the South by Southwest festival. The star appeared at an event in Austin, Texas, alongside fellow comedians Dulcé Sloan, Jim Gaffigan, and Ricky Velez, when the subject of colonization was raised.

Cleese said to Sloan, who is Black, that the British gave her "free passage" to the United States, in reference to slavery. He also said the British are owed reparations by Italy, a joking reference to the Roman conquest of Britain nearly 2,000 years ago.

One Twitter user responded to the controversy by telling Cleese that "mockingly comparing getting [reparations] for things that happened 1,000 years ago, to things that happened less than a generation ago is a flawed comparison."

While Cleese accepted that the person in question was "quite right," he asserted: "But that was the joke. The ridiculousness of the comparison was the joke. But if you lack a sense of irony, you might not realise that. But that's not a good reason to deprive people who do understand irony of a good laugh."

In November, Cleese canceled a planned appearance at his alma mater, Cambridge University, after a fellow attendee was barred by what he called "woke" staff and students for "doing an impersonation of Hitler."