John Cleese complains of hate from '˜Facebook generation'

British comedy legend John Cleese admitted he feels hated by the 'Facebook generation' during an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
John Cleese claimed that Britain has the "worst press in Europe". Picture: PA WireJohn Cleese claimed that Britain has the "worst press in Europe". Picture: PA Wire
John Cleese claimed that Britain has the "worst press in Europe". Picture: PA Wire

The Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star, who recently revealed he was moving to the West Indies, branded modern Britain “corrupt”, described the UK government as one of the worst coalitions ever and branded Donald Trump as “the greatest a***hole in the world” during his one-off appearance at the EICC.

In an In Conversation event with Scottish comic Fred MacAulay, Cleese also recalled feeling “treated like s***” by serious actors when he first performed at the Fringe with the Cambridge Footlights in 1963.

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Cleese returned to the nation’s TV screens earlier this year in the BBC sitcom Hold the Sunset, which revolves around two retired neighbours. The dreams of Phil and Edith, played by Cleese and Alison Steadman respectively, of moving to Spain to start a new life together are put on hold when her son arrives and announces he has left his wife and children.

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Recalling the reaction to his new comedy, Cleese said: “You do a show for the BBC and they never tell you how it has been received.

“I know the Facebook generation absolutely hate it, which is a badge of pride as far as I’m concerned. I think the older generation do like it.

“You have to realise that young people are the cause of most of the misery in the world. You worry yourself sick about them, they cost a fortune and then they grow up like their mothers.”

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Cleese has blamed Britain’s “right-wing press” for his decision to quit the UK for the ­Caribbean, accusing editors of colluding with the Westminster government to scupper hopes of introducing proportional representation to the House of Commons.

He said: “We now have a ­coalition under first past the post that is one of the most disastrous coalitions that there has ever been. There’s a whole lot of greedy do-it-yourself Tories shacking up with eight Neanderthals from Northern Ireland.”