Fox News has made quite the fool of itself this week after a news anchor unknowingly quoted Monty Python live on air. The outlet had been covering the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) when they read out a comment made on Reddit, not knowing that it was actually a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The network was quickly called out by people who recognised the quote, and now Monty Python actor John Cleese has added his two cents to the matter.
John Cleese has mocked Fox News after the network unwittingly reported a Monty Python joke as serious journalistic evidence earlier this week.
Located in Seattle, CHAZ (also known as CHOP) was created just over a week ago by hundreds of protestors, following the widespread unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd. The self-declared autonomous zone, which spans about six blocks, provides free food, water, and medical clinics, amongst other things, to its “residents” – and operates without police presence.
Earlier this week, Fox News host Martha MacCallum was reporting on CHAZ when she used a Reddit post as evidence of supposed leadership issues within the zone. The Reddit post appeared to refer to Raz Simone, a rapper who has allegedly assumed the role of unofficial leader of the zone.
“I didn’t vote for Raz,” MacCallum read from the Reddit post. “I thought we had an autonomous collective? An anarcho-syndicalist commune at the least, we should take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.”
Fox News fell for a Monty Python joke on Reddit lmao pic.twitter.com/Yo34yuQvlD
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) June 13, 2020
as it aired pic.twitter.com/X2JF3v0yCg
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) June 13, 2020
Unfortunately for MacCallum, the network didn’t realise that the Reddit user was actually jokingly quoting a famous moment from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The moment in question sees King Arthur attempting to tell two peasants that he’s their new king, only to be told that they have already established a government of their own – a joke which upends class stereotypes and posits the lower class as more educated than the upper class.
Now, John Cleese has taken a moment to weigh in on the whole situation, claiming that “no one” at Fox News has ever seen Monty Python:
BREAKING: No one @FoxNews has ever seen @montypython & The Holy Grail. 😂 #runit #goodjournalism #factchecking pic.twitter.com/46sKRh4qQi
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) June 15, 2020
Check out the original clip in all its glory below:
In other news, John Cleese made headlines last week after he called out the BBC for removing an episode of Fawlty Towers which they had deemed offensive. The episode, titled The Germans, has since been reinstated. It comes as a whole host of shows and films have been removed from streaming services due to racially sensitive content following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
