I came across some news late yesterday afternoon which I found utterly disappointing and quite heartbreaking: John Cleese, one of my favourite comedians and actors, has come as siding with the outists. I know it shouldn’t matter, and that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for me this groups him with the xenophobes, nationalists, and short-sighted idiots who would take us out of the EU. I loved Cleese’s comedy, and still cherish the memory of watching Monty Python Live; but this seems like an utter betrayal of everything I thought Cleese stood for. I thought he would be better than that. How can I still laugh at, say, the parrot sketch or french taunter scene, when I know the guy who made them would have us stripped of our rights and the economy opened up to the perverse form of capitalism? This news thus taints something I once held quite sacred, and I am frankly very upset about it.

ADDENDUM: of course I can still laugh at cleese’s comedy; he’s one of the funniest men ever. One should never let politics get in the way of such things. One should be able to disagree with someone politically, yet still admire them.