Cambridge Union scraps ‘blacklist’ after Cleese cancels himself
Actor pulls out of event in wake of Hitler impression row, as he says ‘I played him in Monty Python’
THE CAMBRIDGE Union has reversed plans to “blacklist” speakers after John Cleese pulled out of a talk over its “woke rules”.
Keir Bradwell, president of the union, told members that a blacklist would be created after Andrew Graham-dixon, an art historian, offended some students by performing an Adolf Hitler impression to make a point during a debate last week.
Cleese responded yesterday by announcing he was “blacklisting” himself “before someone else does” by pulling out of an engagement at the union.
Mr Bradwell said last night that the debating society would perform an about-turn on proposals to ban certain speakers. “Obviously announcing a U-turn looks silly,” he said. “I was just a 21-year-old who tried to make the situation better. There is no policy to ban anyone for what they are going to say, it’s a free speech institution.
“If there is dichotomy between free speech and offence, I would defend free speech.
“I don’t want to create an impression that the union is against free speech.”
Mr Bradwell had initially sent out an email saying he would “create a blacklist of speakers never to be invited back”, which would include Mr Graham-dixon. The academic and broadcaster was criticised by students for mimicking Hitler during a debate on the motion “this house believes there is no such thing as good taste”.
The impression was intended to illustrate that the Nazis had objectively bad taste due to their racist views, but it was branded “absolutely unacceptable” and “utterly horrifying” by Zara Salaria, the union equalities officer.
Mr Bradwell faced criticism on campus that he did not halt the Hitler impersonation while presiding over the debate, and issued an open letter apologising for not doing so, writing “I regret not intervening”.
He said that he tried to reassure his peers that Mr Graham-dixon would not return to the Union but his proposed blacklist was subsequently branded “Stalinist” by critics.
Cleese, 82, who impersonated Hitler in an episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and performed a goose step in Fawlty Towers, responded by pulling out of an event scheduled for tomorrow.
He wrote on Twitter: “I apologise to anyone at Cambridge who was hoping to talk with me, but perhaps some of you can find a venue where woke rules do not apply.
“I was looking forward to talking to students at the Cambridge Union this Friday, but I hear that someone there has been blacklisted for doing an impersonation of Hitler. I regret that I did the same on a Monty Python show, so I am blacklisting myself before someone else does.”
Mr Graham-dixon, 60, has previously defended his address to the union. “The intention of my speech was to underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler and his regime,” he said.
“He caricatured Jewish people and black people and homosexuals in all kinds of terrible ways and curated a huge art exhibition – called Degenerate Art – as propaganda for his poisonous views.
“In my speech I caricatured him, briefly, paraphrasing his crass and insensitive statements about art and race. I’d hoped this was crystal clear to all present.”
Mr Graham-dixon apologised for any offence caused.