John Cleese, 85, in savage dig at Elon Musk as he quits X over ‘class’ of users on social media platform
Legendary British comedian and actor John Cleese announced his plans to leave the social media platform X on Tuesday.
The 85-year-old Monty Python star has long expressed dissatisfaction with the site’s direction under owner Elon Musk.
In October 2022, billionaire Elon Musk, 53, purchased the social media platform Twitter for $44billion.
In July the following year he renamed Twitter to X, only increasing intense debate on his handling of the hugely influential site.
The debate grew to fever pitch as Musk threw his support behind Donald Trump’s ultimately successful bid to retake the White House in 2024.
This triggered a so-called “X-odus” of celebs and brands from the site – such as The Guardian newspaper and BMW UK.
Now, veteran comedian Cleese will follow suit in a move to subscription-based blog site Substack.
Cleese has been regularly active on Twitter and X for years, sharing his thoughts with his 5.4 million followers.
In a video message posted on the platform, the 85-year-old addressed his decision to his “twits” – a semi-affectionate term for his followers.
“I just want to say to all my beloved twits that I am moving to Substack because I think I will encounter a better class of person there,” he said.
In a pointed dig at Musk, Cleese added about Substack: “Also, it’s not owned by you know who.”
On his new blog, he explained: “I used to like Twitter but always felt very constrained by the 144 (character) limit. This brought problems for the irony-challenged, who misunderstood a lot of what I was trying to say.
“I hope that now I am on Substack I can offer ideas of greater subtlety to my ex-Twits, whom I shall refer to henceforth as ‘my followers’,” Cleese concluded.
In an earlier X post, the legendary Python he hoped his new Substack would “attract only people who can understand what I’m saying.”
He explained he had grown tired on dealing with “infantilized people” on X in the comments of his regular criticisms of the Musk and Trump.
In February 2024, Cleese described the ban of journalist Kevin Rothrock in February 2024 as “shameful”.
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His account was also peppered with comments on President Trump, from cheeky snipes to full on political broadsides.
“I read that many of the people who voted for Trump have explained that their decision was a ‘no-brainer’. I admit I had been wondering,” he quipped following Trump’s victory in the November election.
Cleese caused had previously stoked fury in his reaction the assassination attempt on then-candidate Trump in July.
While describing the act as “appalling,” Cleese questioned the belief promoted by Trump and some of his followers that divine providence saved him from death.
“Now, I’m a big fan of God’s, but I would like to know why he put the sniper on the roof in the first place,” Cleese wrote.