Eric Idle Says “Python Is Dead” Amid Continuing Monty Python Rift

Eric Idle has said that Monty Python is “dead” as he addressed his ongoing estrangement from his former castmates.

Idle helped form the landmark comedy troupe in 1969 with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

The group became famous for the television sketch series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, films including Life Of Brian and Monty Python And The Holy Grail, and a string of musical projects. Their final performance together came in 2014 with the stage production Monty Python Live (Mostly) at London’s O2.

The concerts were the Pythons’ first live shows together in 34 years, their second without Chapman, who died in 1989, and their last featuring Jones, who died in 2020.

On Thursday, September 10, Idle posted on X/Twitter about the UK release of his new book, Idle In Provence: A Brief History of Thyme, before commenting on the status of Monty Python.

Idle said the book had taken five years to complete, then concluded: “Python is dead.”

He had also rejected a fan’s suggestion that he reunite with Cleese, Palin and Gilliam for “one last hurrah,” replying: “No thanks.”

Today is my publication day in the UK. I hope you like and enjoy the book I spent five years on. That’s what I’m doing. Python is dead.

— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) September 10, 2026

No thanks.

— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) September 10, 2026

Idle also alluded to the rift with his former Monty Python colleagues, writing: “When you hear what caused it, you might be more sympathetic.”

When another person suggested that he and Cleese should move beyond their political differences, Idle replied: “Unfortunately it’s much worse than that, but I’m not going to say as it’s very boring.”

Asked whether he would consider a new Python production with Palin and Gilliam but without Cleese, Idle’s response was blunt: “No.”

Unfortunately it’s much worse than that but I’m not going to say as it’s very boring.

— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) September 10, 2026

When you hear what caused it you might be more sympathetic

— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) September 10, 2026

No.

— Eric Idle (@EricIdle) September 10, 2026

In 2024, Idle said he was not financially secure despite Monty Python’s enormous success and still had to work in his 80s. “Python is a disaster,” he wrote at the time. “[Monty Python musical] Spamalot made money 20 years ago. I have to work for my living. Not easy at this age.”

He added: “We own everything we ever made in Python and I never dreamed that at this age the income streams would tail off so disastrously.” Idle suggested that manager Holly Gilliam, Terry’s daughter, may have contributed to the declining revenue.

Cleese responded by saying that he and Idle had “always loathed and despised each other, but it’s only recently that the truth has begun to emerge.” Defending Holly, he said he had worked with her for the previous decade and described her as “very efficient, clear-minded, hard-working, and pleasant to have dealings with”.

He added: “Michael Palin has asked me to make it clear that he shares this opinion. Terry Gilliam is also in agreement with this.”

Speaking to NME last summer, Idle was asked whether the surviving Pythons might reunite for another project. “I don’t think this lot will get together and be funny. I don’t think it’s possible,” he said.

“If I’m going to be funny, I want to be funny with new or different people or jam with other wonderful musicians,” he said.

Idle told NME: “We did it in 2014 with Monty Python Live (Mostly), which I wrote and directed. It was 10 nights at the O2 and fabulous. It happened just in time because Terry was having difficulty remembering things and his mind was going. We’d say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get you through this’.”

Asked about his current relationships with the other members, Idle replied: “I would say from poor to terrible. They don’t talk to me. I haven’t seen them for 10 years so it doesn’t really matter. Apparently they say rude and nasty things but I don’t read them.

“I survived [pancreatic] cancer. Every day is a gift and I’m not going to waste my time bickering with people who have things to say that I don’t read. I’d say it’s a spat but I’m not doing any spitting. And if I have to turn any more cheeks, my pants will fall down! I move on. If you get old and bitter, that’s bad. You have to get older and better. Why waste your life grumbling and complaining? I try and rise below it.”

He also told NME that Cleese “complains all the fucking time” and had “no idea what he’s doing.” Idle was referring to Cleese’s objections to actors appearing in a stage adaptation of Life Of Brian. Cleese said the performers had objected to a scene in which Idle’s character says he is going to become a woman.

Source link