John Cleese refused to bend the knee to the outrage mob who called for a joke to be removed from an upcoming stage version of Monty Python’s “Life Of Brian.” The controversial scene features a man claiming that he is a woman and he can have a baby.
Cleese is working on a stage production of Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” a 1979 movie about a man who is mistaken for Jesus Christ. However, actors allegedly told Cleese that one scene would need to be cut out of the reproduction for it not to be offensive in today’s social environment.
The scene in question features a character named “Stan” – who wants to become a woman and have babies.
“I want to be a woman,” Stan declares. “From now on, I want you all to call me Loretta.”
Cleese’s character Reg bewilderedly asked, “What?”
Stan fires back, “It’s my right as a man.”
When asked why he wants to be a woman, Stan explains, “I want to have babies.”
Reg quizzically replies, “You want to have babies?”
Stan shoots back, “It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.”
When Reg informs Stan that he “can’t have babies,” Stan plays the victim, “Don’t you oppress me.”
Cleese’s character notes, “I’m not oppressing you, Stan, you haven’t got a womb. Where’s the fetus going to gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?”
Other characters agree that Stan can’t have babies, but argue that he should have the “right to have babies.”
Reg responds, “What’s the point of fighting for his right to have babies when he can’t have babies?”
Another character says, “It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression.”
Reg quips that Stan has a “struggle with reality” for thinking he can give birth to a baby.