John Cleese has publicly branded fellow Python Eric Idle untrustworthy, claiming the 83-year-old requested a meeting about potential future projects only to later insist it was the other way round.
The 86-year-old Fawlty Towers creator took to X on Saturday to lay out his version of events.
He wrote: “A few days ago, Eric Idle asked the other Pythons for a meeting to discuss future projects.
“Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and I refused, because we are appalled by the way he has been abusing Holly Gilliam since she took over from Jim Beach, after his stroke. Now he’s saying we asked him for a meeting and he refused. Not to be trusted these days.”
A few days ago, Eric Idle asked the other Pythons for a meeting to discuss future projects
Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and I refused, because we are appalled by the way he has been abusing Holly Gilliam since she took over from Jim Beach, after his stroke
Now he’s saying we…
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 12, 2026
Holly Gilliam, the daughter of Python member Terry Gilliam, assumed the role of managing the group’s affairs after their previous manager Jim Beach suffered a serious stroke. She had been Mr Beach’s deputy and took over the Python brand through HDG Projects Ltd.
Mr Cleese has consistently defended Holly’s stewardship, previously stating: “I want to make it clear that Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and I are totally satisfied with Holly’s work. He has bullied her for several years, and we all think it’s shameful.”
Mr Idle, by contrast, has repeatedly attacked her management, claiming it is partly responsible for his need to continue working into his eighties.
He has alleged that dwindling income streams have left him worse off than fans might expect.
The latest exchange effectively confirms that the three remaining Pythons: Mr Cleese, Mr Palin and Mr Gilliam, have united against Mr Idle, dashing any lingering hopes of a reunion.
Mr Idle has been equally forthright in his public pronouncements, declaring bluntly on X while promoting his new book Idle In Provence: A Brief History of Thyme that “Python is dead.”
When a follower suggested one final reunion, he replied “no thanks,” and when asked whether he might ever collaborate again with Mr Palin and Mr Gilliam, he was unequivocal: “No chance.”
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Idle argued that his fellow Pythons owed him gratitude for the substantial royalties generated by his hit musical Spamalot, which has been staged around the world.
Mr Cleese and Eric Idle were part of comedy troupe Monty Python | GETTY
“I think I have more business sense. They’re not very good at it, a lot of them,” he said.
He also suggested the rift had been building since the pandemic, recalling: “I felt it happening during Covid, and I called him up… and then he was getting more and more angry.
“I don’t know. It’s like, they all got angry about Spamalot. You go, ‘Excuse me, I made you all a million f***ing dollars each when you’ve paid that back, we can talk.'”
Mr Idle pointed to a power imbalance within the group, noting: “They have three votes and I have one,” which he said allowed the others to push through decisions without his agreement.
Eric Idle has distanced himself from his Python co-stars
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GETTYIn a Sunday Times interview, he also took aim at Mr Cleese personally, calling him a “grumpy old man.”
He even drew an unflattering comparison with his most famous character.
“A young man parroting an old man being grumpy is funny,” he noted.
“But just turning into a grumpy old man, that’s less funny, isn’t it?”