The Cambridge Union last night made a U-turn on plans to create a 'blacklist' of speakers barred from speaking at their debating society.
The Cambridge Union had banned an art historian last week after he impersonated Adolf Hitler and said it would be announcing a full blacklist in due course.
But yesterday, Monty Python star John Cleese pulled out of a talk at a planned Cambridge Union event, saying he was 'blacklisting' himself 'before someone else does'.
And last night union president Keir Bradwell said: ‘Obviously announcing a U-turn looks silly. 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.’
He also told The Daily Telegraph: ‘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.’
The comedian, 82, who himself famously impersonated the Nazi dictator in a Monty Python sketch, said he was blacklisting himself 'before someone else does'
Alongside his Monty Python sketch, Cleese also famously impersonated Hitler by goose-stepping in an episode of Fawlty Towers
It comes after Monty Python star John Cleese said he was 'blacklisting' himself from a Cambridge Union event after the debating society banned a historian for performing an impression of Adolf Hitler.
The comedian, 82, who famously impersonated the Nazi dictator in a Monty Python sketch, and again in Fawlty Towers, said he is 'blacklisting' himself 'before someone else does'.
His comments come after Keir Bradwell, the student president of the 200-year-old Cambridge Union, emailed members on Monday to inform them he was setting up a list of banned speakers.
The list, dubbed as 'Stalinist' by critics, includes Andrew Graham-Dixon - an art historian who offended students with a Nazi impersonation last week.
Graham-Dixon has apologised for impersonating Hitler when explaining the dictator’s views on artists of his time.
Taking to Twitter, Cleese, who was due to speak to students on Friday, wrote: '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'
Taking to Twitter, Cleese, who was due to speak to students on Friday, wrote: '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.'
In a follow-up tweet, the comedian, who studied at Cambridge, added: '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.'
Representatives for Cleese and the Cambridge Union are yet to confirm if the event has been cancelled.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
In the sketch, Cleese plays the fictitious Mr Hilter, a 'National Bocialist' candidate in a by-election in Minehead.
Accompanied by 'Ron Vibbentrop' - who is presumed to be Nazi Germany's foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop - and 'Heinrich Bimmler' - presumed by Heinrich Himmler - he plots to win the by-election.
The group set about attempting to convince locals of their policies, including their main aim - to annexe Poland.
During a speech on a balcony, decked in the Nazi flag, he also advocates changing the town's name to 'Meinhead'.
Despite several glaring clues that the man is actually Adolf Hitler, including Heinrich accidently saying 'Hitler' before saying 'Hilter' after a nudge from Cleese's character, the constituents seem oblivious of the man's real identity.
It is never revealed if Mr Hilter wins or loses the by-election.
Fawlty Towers - The Germans
In the episode, Cleese, playing his character Basil Fawlty, continues to offend German guests - despite repeatedly telling staff 'Don't mention the war'.
At one point, Fawlty, who is suffering from the effects of concussion, goose-steps in front of his guests while using his finger to symbolise a Hitler-esque mustache.
The war references have long been a topic of debate, despite Cleese insisting the joke was on Britons obsessed by the Allied victory over the Nazis, rather than the Germanys.
The show was removed from BBC-owned UKTV last year, due to the use of racial slurs, including the n-word.
During the episode, Fawlty has a conversation with Major Gowen, who tells an anecdote about a cricket match, in which he uses terms such as the n-word.
However Cleese branded the channel 'stupid' for not realising the show was mocking the Major's use of the n-word and added: 'We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them.'
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The talk at the Cambridge Union, a debating society which prides itself as a bastion of free speech, was due to be about his upcoming Channel 4 documentary 'John Cleese: Cancel Me'.
The documentary will see the comedian speak to people who claim to have been 'cancelled' for their actions or statements.
The show about political correctness will also include interviews with activists who have led opposition to public figures over their views.
Cleese has previously rallied against 'woke culture' after seeing his own work 'cancelled'.
He hit out at the BBC earlier this year after they temporarily removed an episode of Fawlty Towers from its UKTV streaming services for use of 'outdated language'.
The row was over the famous Fawlty Towers episode 'The Germans', which first aired in 1975.
In the episode, Cleese, playing his character Basil Fawlty, repeatedly offends a group of German guests with mentions of the Second World War - despite continually telling staff 'Don't mention the war'.
At one point, Fawlty, who is suffering from the effects of a concussion, goose-steps in front of his guests while using his finger to make a Hitler mustache.
Though the war references have long been a topic of debate - despite Cleese's insistence the joke was on older Britons obsessed by the Allied victory over the Nazis - the decision to remove the episode was due to the use of racial slurs, including the n-word.
During the episode, Fawlty has a conversation with Major Gowen, who tells an anecdote about a cricket match, in which he uses racist terms such as the n-word.
However Cleese branded the channel 'stupid' for not realising the show was mocking the Major's use of the n-word and added: 'We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them.'
The Hitler impression referred to in his Tweet however refers to his impression of the Nazi dictator in a sketch for Monty Python's Flying Circus.
In the 1969 sketch, Cleese plays the fictitious Mr Hilter, a 'National Bocialist' candidate in a by-election in Minehead.
Accompanied by 'Ron Vibbentrop' - who is presumed to be Nazi Germany's foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop - and 'Heinrich Bimmler' - presumed by Heinrich Himmler - he plots to win the seat.
The group set about attempting to convince locals of their policies, including the annexation of Poland.
During a speech on a balcony, decked in the Nazi flag, he also advocates changing the town's name to 'Meinhead'.
Despite several glaring clues that he is actually Adolf Hitler, including Heinrich accidently saying 'Hitler' before correcting it to 'Hilter', the constituents seem oblivious of the candidate's real identity.
It is never revealed in the sketch, written by Cleese and fellow Python Michael Palin, if Mr Hilter wins the by-election.
The row comes after reports that Cambridge Union has drawn up a 'Stalinist' blacklist of banned speakers.
According to the Telegraph, President Keir
