John Cleese and Eric Idle’s relationship “over” as pair trade barbs on Twitter

19 September, 2024

John Cleese and Eric Idle

John Cleese and Eric Idle have got into an X/Twitter spat over the management of the Monty Python brand.

The pair had first had a war of words earlier this year after Idle said he’s still working aged 80 for financial reasons. “I don’t know why people always assume we’re loaded. Python is a disaster,” he wrote on social media. “Spamalot made money 20 years ago. I have to work for my living. Not easy at this age.”

He later blamed the mismanagement of the Python brand on Terry Gilliam and his daughter, Holly. However, Cleese, Michael Palin and Gilliam himself all said they approved of Holly’s management. “I find her very efficient, clear-minded, hard-working, and pleasant,” Cleese said.

Indeed, Cleese said shortly after that him and Idle have always loathed and despised each other”.

Now, Idle has brought the matter up again in response to a fan’s dismay that the members of the comedy troupe no longer appear to be on good terms.

“I don’t mind but once they put Gilliams daughter in as Manager and Cleese fires Jim Beach, well it’s over,” he claimed.

In response to a fan asking why he was supposedly allowed to fire Beach, Cleese then accused Idle of “invention” and gave a different version of events. “Jim, who was an old friend of mine from Cambridge days, became Python manager after the O2 show,” he said. “About four years ago he suffered a bad stroke and subsequently resigned as our manager. His number 2, Holly Gilliam, automatically took over as Python manager.”

Monty Python, made up of Cleese, Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam, made their debut on television with the BBC sketch series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which ran from 1969 to 1974. They later turned their attention to the big screen, making Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 1975, Monty Python’s Life of Brian in 1979, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life in 1983.

Cleese appears to have gone back on comments that suggested he was quitting Twitter. “Good bye, Twitter,” he wrote. “And thanks for dinner, Elon.”

However, Cleese’s daughter Camilla appeared to poke fun at the suggestion, writing in response: “This won’t age well. See you in the morning!”

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