Eric Idle on Monty Python's Financial Troubles and Tensions with John Cleese

Eric Idle tackles Monty Python's financial problems and his “bad” relationship with fellow comedy troupe member John Cleese.

In a new interview in The New YorkerThe 81-year-old told how he has been anything but, shall we say, idle throughout his eighties due to a lack of liquidity.

Idle wrote in February: “I never thought that at this age, income streams would be so disastrously reduced… I don't know why people always assume we're rich. Python is a disaster. [Their musical] Spamlotto made money 20 years ago. I have to work for a living. It's not easy at this age.” He also appeared to blame the comedy troupe's wealth manager, Holly Gilliam, daughter of member Terry Gilliam, for the state of their finances. Cleese also wrote that he “loathed and despised” Idle, then later said he was only joking.

Idle says his comment was: “One hundred percent true. I never thought Python would be in a situation where he didn't have enough to support us all in our old age. But three of us are on tour on tour! It's not entirely down to one person. Spotify stole everything and YouTube stole everything. People assume you're rich. But, like anyone else, I have to work for a living. I don't think it's a bad thing for me, to be honest. I'm on tour. It keeps me fit. I like making people laugh. Would I like to sit down and read a book? Of course I would. Sometimes you can't get what you want.”

At the time, 84-year-old Cleese came to Holly Gilliam's defense, saying she was “efficient, clear-headed, hard-working and kind.”

Idle now says he stands by his criticism: “I don't think it's appropriate for someone's daughter to run the company. You can't be neutral in a situation where your father is on the board. I think that's not fair and it leads to dangerous feelings and difficulties.”

He describes his current relationship with Cleese as “poor” and noted that their relationship “started to go a bit south during lockdown, and I got worried. I haven't seen him for eight years. I think when you lose contact with people face to face, a lot of things can happen. It's a shame.”

“I don't think there are any Pythons left,” he added. “Two of them are gone, and some are on the edge! [Laughs] And some were lucky and didn't go. I don't think there's a reason. We haven't done anything new in forty years, really.”

Meanwhile, Cleese has said he wants to say goodbye to X/Twitter in a new post that references Elon Musk.

“Goodbye, Twitter,” Cleese he wrote Sunday night. “And thanks for dinner, Elon.”

The tweet was not explained, but Cleese has posted frequent criticisms of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, while Musk has posted criticisms of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Given that Cleese retweeted a post on Monday morningHowever, it seems rather unlikely that he will actually leave the platform.

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