Entertainment

‘Monty Python’ Star Hits Back Against Backlash Over His Claims London Is ‘No Longer An English City’ Because Of Migrants

British actor John Cleese walks on the red carpet during the 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
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‘Monty Python’ star John Cleese hit back Wednesday over backlash against his claim that London is “no longer an English city any more” due to the migrants.

It all started after the 79-year-old actor tweeted that “Some years ago I opined that London was not really an English city any more.” (RELATED: Gay Themes Get ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ Banned At P.A. High School)

British comedian John Cleese gestures during a news conference at Taronga Zoo in Sydney January 6, 2006. Academy Award winner Cleese was promoting a Sydney show ahead of a solo tour of Australia in September 2006 following a sell-out tour of New Zealand. REUTERS/Will Burgess

British comedian John Cleese gestures during a news conference at Taronga Zoo in Sydney January 6, 2006. REUTERS/Will Burgess

“Since then, virtually all my friends from abroad have confirmed my observation,” he added. “So there must be some truth in it…I note also that London was the UK city that voted most strongly to remain in the EU.” (RELATED: Political Correctness Is Leading To Comedy’s Slow Death)

The original comment he made “some years ago” came during an interview in 2011 on Australian television when he shared that “London is no longer an English city” and that it “doesn’t feel English,” per the Huffington Post. (RELATED: ‘The Simpsons’ Are Removing An Iconic Michael Jackson Episode)

Cleese also shared that a friend of his from California asked him when visiting, “where are all the English people?”

“I love having different cultures around but when the parent culture kind of dissipates you’re left thinking ‘well, what’s going on,'” Cleese concluded.

Twitter users lashed out Cleese’s Wednesday post, calling the “Fawlty Towers” star’s comments “ignorant,” “dog-whistly” and more.

Mayor London Sadiq Khan decried Cleese’s claim in a statement to the Daily Mail, saying,”These comments make John Cleese sound like he’s in character as Basil Fawlty.”

“Londoners know that our diversity is our greatest strength,” Khan added. “We are proudly the English capital, a European city and a global hub.”

Cleese hit back soon after the attacks surfaced online, defending his earlier comments.

“I suspect I should apologise for my affection for the Englishness of my upbringing, but in some ways I found it calmer, more polite, more humorous, less tabloid, and less money-oriented than the one that is replacing it, ” the British comedian tweeted to his 5.6 million followers.