Plenty of people have made fun of Fox News for failing to recognize an obvious Monty Python joke it reported as straight news during a live broadcast last Friday — and now a member of the comedy troupe has joined in on it.
On Monday, Python co-founder John Cleese tweeted “BREAKING: No one @FoxNews has ever seen @montypython & The Holy Grail. ???? #runit #goodjournalism #factchecking” to his 5.7 million followers.
The background, for those just catching up, is that on Friday during a story about the Seattle protests that aired live, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum reported on a Reddit post she said was evidence of infighting among activists involved in the city’s so-called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.” Unfortunately, the post was clearly a joke referencing one of the most famous scenes from 1975’s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
The post, added to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone subreddit by user “Kasplorge,” says in part “I didn’t vote for Raz. I thought we were an autonomous collective? An anachro-syndicalist commune at the least. We should take turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.”
That of course is a reference to this famous scene from “Grail,” in which King Arthur (Graham Chapman) stumbles upon some anachronistically leftist peasants who refuse to recognize his kingly authority and instead declare themselves to be part of an “anachro-syndicalist commune.”
Kasplorge has been banned from the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone subreddit for the (very funny) joke. So far Fox hasn’t formally retracted the report. Either way, Fox News and you should watch “Holy Grail” soon because it’s really good. See Cleese’s tweet, and the famous bit below:
15 Craziest 'SNL' Cut for Time Sketches - From Andy Samberg's 'Testicules Cologne' to Ariana Grande as Judy Garland (Videos)
"Testicules Cologne" (May 2014) • In this glamorous commercial for Testicules, a "cologne for down there," women, men and even a dog fawn over a man (Andy Samberg) who exudes confidence.
"Coal Miners" (October 2014) • Levar (Bill Hader), the gossipy coal miner, spread rumors amongst and about his fellow coal miners.
"Grandpa" (January 2015) • Grandpa (J.K. Simmons) makes quite an impression on his granddaughter's fiancé when he can't stop discussing grandma's booty.
"Dance of the Daisies" (March 2015) • Four friends (including Dwayne Johnson) immediately regret dressing up as flowerpots and putting on a show.
"The Sparkelles" (April 2015) • Girl group The Sparkelles (Taraji P. Henson, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones) have a little trouble coming up with original songs when they perform on "The Shebang Hour."
"Inner White Girl" (May 2015) • When Leslie Jones has a hard time dealing with white people, she consults her Inner White Girl (Reese Witherspoon).
"Donald Trump's Hair" (November 2015) • Scalp Team 6 scientists are shrunk and dispatched to protect Donald Trump's hair when the wind picks up.
"Christmas at Nana's" (December 2015) •
Amy Poehler and Kyle Mooney are siblings who are forced to resolve their differences before they can spend time with Grandma.
"Supermarket Spree" (February 2016) •
A contestant (Melissa McCarthy) will stop at nothing to take out her competition on Supermarket Spree.
"Cinema Channel" (March 2016) •
Star Judy Garland (Ariana Grande) has total creative control for her 1961 sci-fi film, "Up We Go in Our Fantastic Rocket."
"New Bachelorette" (May 2017) • Chris Pine’s multiple attempts to woo the first black "Bachelorette," Rachel (Sasheer Zamata), goes spectacularly wrong.
"My Little Stepchildren" (February 2018) • If you have a fear of dolls, well you should probably look away now. The toy is specifically targeted at children with a “flair for the dramatic,” like Natalie Portman’s kid in the ad.
"Heinz" (November 2019) • A commercial advertises Heinz Relax ketchup in a newly designed bottle that sounds like it enjoys Will Ferrell squeezing it more than it should.
Aidy Bizzo & Lizzo (December 2019) • Undeniably confident Lizzo teaches Aidy Bryant how to work her "earth-shatteringly gorgeous a--."
"Love Is Blind: Quarantine Edition" (March 2020) • Contestants on Netflix's reality dating show "Love Is Blond" (including John Mulaney) choose to marry someone they have never met while under quarantine for the coronavirus. It doesn't end well.
1 of 15
How about a little ”Saturday Night Live“ to kick off the night?
"Testicules Cologne" (May 2014) • In this glamorous commercial for Testicules, a "cologne for down there," women, men and even a dog fawn over a man (Andy Samberg) who exudes confidence.
