# Monty Python's John Cleese claims that this is his funniest joke. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414 "2017-09-15T18:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/21 "2017-09-16T07:45:24Z")
You guys are looking at this all wrong. First of it is “Certainly not with her hands.” ‘Not with her hands’ isn’t as funny and its misleading. You guys are reading way too much into this. It’s a very simple joke. The joke is, “The Queen is very posh” And that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/22 "2017-09-16T12:42:18Z")
I can only get it if it has the setup of someone in the audience asking it in apparent sincerity, as described in the article. If it’s just a bit, it falls flat. The added punch of having to respond to such a ridiculous question makes it work, to me. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/23 "2017-09-16T12:54:11Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I thought it was: > > “Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!” [German accent]That’s _not funny!_[/GA] ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/24 "2017-09-16T12:58:44Z")
That joke makes Gallagher’s “What would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way” seem like an award winner. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/25 "2017-09-16T14:36:23Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > The humor in that particular instance, was involved with contrasting Cleese’s absurd response to someone’s serious, paranoia and conspiracy-theory-based question, which essentially toyed with them nonsensically. > > Humor is rather subjective, after all. I for one, have never managed to figure out why anyone laughs at the three stooges. Each to their own milieu, I suppose. Then, a better punchline would have been, “Certainly not…It was Dodi she was after.” And the Three Stooges totally rule. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/26 "2017-09-16T15:33:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The things that stood out to me in the interview: > -When confronted with the fact that different folks have different tastes, he ascribed it to a difference in intelligence: southerners and midwesterners don’t like his stuff because they’re dumb. No awareness of how culturally specific humor can be. (I’d be interested in his analysis of why teenaged boys seem to be the biggest fans of his stuff). > -He told a joke where undocumented Mexican immigrants are portrayed as an invading army, **and that’s the entire joke** , and he can’t understand why anyone would find it mean-spirited. If he defended the joke that’d be one thing, but to fail to understand why folks would object to that is just foolish. > -When the interviewer asked him about the idea that he was controlling, he deflected by telling mean stories about other Python members and claimed they were the real controlling ones. His feud is with Gilliam. Like he said in the article they play it up for audiences but it is there. Gilliam is controlling. Cleese comes off as more opinionated than controlling. At one point when he spoke he fired off a bunch of ethnic humor jokes. Yeah it seemed jarring now. I think that was his point. Humor shouldn’t be safe. Humor shouldn’t worry about hurting people’s feelings. Humor towards a group of people is ok as long as it’s not coming from actual hate. People should be able to laugh at each other. He doesn’t like political correctness and throws it right in your face. He seems to collect these jokes and my only problem with it is most were old and not original. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/27 "2017-09-16T18:19:50Z")
The Queen does nothing with her own hands, with the [possible] exception of wiping her ass. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/28 "2017-09-16T20:06:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The Queen does nothing with her own hands, with the [possible] exception of wiping her ass. That’s done by Minister of Asweepay. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/29 "2017-09-16T20:58:50Z")
Python seems to have had a much longer life in the US than it has in the UK. Or maybe it’s just this board, I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/30 "2017-09-16T21:54:32Z")
No. It’s not just this board. Python had a run on PBS in the US, and in Canada in the 1970s that introduced people here to the absolute absurdness of British humour. The proper British accents and dress juxtaposed with the silliness was a masterpiece to behold. I just watched season (series) one last night on DVD and these guys are about as funny as anyone could possibly get. They are The Beatles of comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/31 "2017-09-16T23:48:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > At one point when he spoke he fired off a bunch of ethnic humor jokes. Yeah it seemed jarring now. I think that was his point. Humor shouldn’t be safe. Humor shouldn’t worry about hurting people’s feelings. Humor towards a group of people is ok as long as it’s not coming from actual hate. Thing is, when we have a president who won based on the Build a Wall promise, with [ads showing swarms of swarthy men scurrying over the border into our country](http://time.com/4166931/donald-trumps-campaign-ad-shows-the-border-with-morocco/) (actually the Morocco/Melilla border, but that was a simple error on their part no doubt), telling a joke about Mexicans invading the US has got some serious resonance. His reflection on the joke was this: > [@](#): > > But is that a nasty joke? Think about the content of it. The Mexicans are actually the heroes! They’ve won! There are millions of Mexicans in America. Are we trying to pretend that isn’t the case? So is that a nasty story to tell? I don’t think it is. That reads as either completely disingenuous or completely stupid to me. He might defend the joke on other grounds–he could make at least a debatable argument that humor needn’t recognize politics at all–but to say it makes them Mexicans the victorious heroes is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/32 "2017-09-17T01:39:26Z")
People are overthinking this. Cleese didn’t write this as a stand-alone joke. He was at a public appearance, taking questions from audience members, and somebody asked him if he thought Queen Elizabeth killed Princess Diana. Cleese responded “Not with her own hands.” So it was an example of quick wit not planned out humor. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/33 "2017-09-17T01:47:46Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > At one point when he spoke he fired off a bunch of ethnic humor jokes. Yeah it seemed jarring now. I think that was his point. Humor shouldn’t be safe. Humor shouldn’t worry about hurting people’s feelings. Humor towards a group of people is ok as long as it’s not coming from actual hate. People should be able to laugh at each other. He doesn’t like political correctness and throws it right in your face. He seems to collect these jokes and my only problem with it is most were old and not original. He was justifiably challenged on that issue by the interviewer. The interviewer pointed out that there’s a power issue in ethnic humor. He noted there’s a difference between when a member of the strong group makes a joke at the expense of the weak group and when a member of the weak group makes a joke at the expense of the strong group. Cleese basically avoided the questions until the interviewer gave up and moved on to the next topic. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/34 "2017-09-17T03:27:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > People are overthinking this. Cleese didn’t write this as a stand-alone joke. He was at a public appearance, taking questions from audience members, and somebody asked him if he thought Queen Elizabeth killed Princess Diana. Cleese responded “Not with her own hands.” > > So it was an example of quick wit not planned out humor. Yes. It isn’t intended as a greatest joke, just an example of absurdity which came to Cleese at that moment. And absurdity is the hallmark of Monty Python. The joke explained: 1. Two famous humourists Eric Idle and John Cleese were doing a show in Florida. They talked to the audience. We would expect a range of questions about Python, the films, their personal lives, future plans etc etc. Even British politics. What they (and we) would not expect was a question as a complete nonsequiter - utterly unrelated to humour or them. The question was beautifully absurd. There is humour right there and it would still have been funny had they had merely smiled and winked. 1. Cleese is brilliant. He took it up another level. “Certainly, not with her own hands” is how it was delivered = Yes, the Queen killed Diana, but not using her own hands implying it was from a distance. And it would have taken a moment or two to sink in. Wicked. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/35 "2017-09-17T03:51:17Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I thought it was: > > “Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!” > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > [German accent]That’s _not funny!_[/GA] Heh. I plugged that into Google Translate. it returned as [FATAL ERROR]. Easter Egg? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/36 "2017-09-17T04:31:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That’s done by Minister of Asweepay. Would you belive it was [The Groom of the Stool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool)? Frankly it sounds like a _Monty Python_ sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/37 "2017-09-17T17:14:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He was justifiably challenged on that issue by the interviewer. The interviewer pointed out that there’s a power issue in ethnic humor. He noted there’s a difference between when a member of the strong group makes a joke at the expense of the weak group and when a member of the weak group makes a joke at the expense of the strong group. Cleese basically avoided the questions until the interviewer gave up and moved on to the next topic. Like I said, when he was talking about it when I was in the audience it felt very jarring. I think his point was we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. In his mind he isn’t a member of a strong group, he is a group of one. The motivation for the joke is important. From his point of view he isn’t saying it out of hate. He picked a joke for about 10 different groups including the English. He doesn’t think that taking a piss out of someone is a bad thing and no one needs to be protected from humor or offense. The jokes got some groans and most were ones I’d heard when I was 12 which I think hurt his point. Give me a well crafted joke and the point would hit home better. Although I suppose he is probably the most conservative of the Pythons he is certainly still liberal and no fan of Trumps. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/38 "2017-09-17T18:39:06Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Cleese is brilliant. He took it up another level. > > “Certainly, not with her own hands” is how it was delivered = Yes, the Queen killed Diana, but not using her own hands implying it was from a distance. > > And it would have taken a moment or two to sink in. Wicked. Again, I think you’re taking it a step too far: he _isn’t_ saying “yes, but not with her hands.” Instead, he’s effectively saying “well, if she did, it wasn’t with her hands.” You know, as if (a) that’s what the questioner may well have had in mind, and as if (b) that’s the part that should be crisply addressed before we discuss anything else. In fact, he’s so intent on dealing with that element first that he never actually gets around to answering that question with a “yes” like you’d said – or, for that matter, with a “no”. It’s as if he doesn’t _care_ whether she was responsible for murder or not; just as long as we all agree she didn’t use her bare hands, that’s the important thing here. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/39 "2017-09-17T21:16:13Z")
Yeah a pretty basic poke at what makes British royalty “proper.” Murder or not murder? That’s not improper or proper of any significance, done all the time, but using ones hands? Certainly _not_. The same concept was the riff of “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” Of course a Kingsman kills, on command and without question. But a Kingsman is above all else always a gentleman. Manners. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414/40 "2017-09-17T21:19:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > That joke makes Gallagher’s “What would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way” seem like an award winner. And it makes the Gain commercial a downright knee-slapper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monty-pythons-john-cleese-claims-that-this-is-his-funniest-joke-why/796414.md?page=3)