John Cleese Steers Clear of Politically Correct College Campuses

John Cleese recently sat down for an interview with Big Think, where he talked about why he won't be performing at a college near you, where “any kind of criticism or any individual or group could be labeled cruel.” He is quoted as follows, inspired by London psychiatrist Robin Skynner, and reprinted by Entertainment Weekly:

“[Skynner] said, ‘If people can’t control their own emotions, then they have to start trying to control other people’s behavior.’ And when you’re around super-sensitive people, you cannot relax and be spontaneous because you have no idea what’s going to upset them next. The whole point about humor, the whole point about comedy, and believe you me I”ve thought about this, is that all comedy is critical … All humor is critical. If you start to say, ‘We mustn’t; we mustn’t criticize or offend them,” then humor is gone. With humor goes a sense of proportion. And then as far as I’m concerned, you’re living in 1984.”