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John Cleese Makes Oscar Pistorius Joke, Incites Twitter Rage

Posted: February 15, 2013
John Cleese Makes Oscar Pistorius Joke, Incites Twitter Rage

John Cleese is hilarious, except when he makes jokes about a South African Olympic/Paralympic sprinter who may have murdered his girlfriend.

The joke in question regarded the shocking and much-publicized shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp, who prosecutors say was murdered by her boyfriend, Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius.

The Monty Python alumnus sent out a very “naughty” tweet on Valentine’s Day about the Pistorius (known popularly as “Blade Runner”) girlfriend killing, which is already pretty sketchy territory for anyone to be tweeting about.

In his tweet, Cleese wrote: “Oscar’s defence will be that he was absolutely legless at the time.”

For the uninitiated, “legless” is British slang for “drunk,” so there’s a rather clever double meaning there, despite the controversial subject matter.

The tweet has 2,576 retweets and 626 favorite so far, but NBC News says that’s only because Cleese has some 2.4 million followers, and most of them like him.

However, a lot of Twitter users didn’t find the joke very funny, and a handful of publications have also lambasted him for it. MSN Now noted that “jokes about murders” are “not funny,” and opined that Cleese probably tweeted such because he fancies himself a “clever bloke.”

Other tweeps were not so kind.

Afterwards, Cleese offered an apology (sort of):

Do you think that John Cleese’s Oscar Pistorius tweet was “a bit naughty?”



Comments


10 Archived Responses to “ John Cleese Makes Oscar Pistorius Joke, Incites Twitter Rage ”

  1. Thato Motsoeneng
    Feb 16, 2013

    These jokes are insesitive only to those who support this murderer

  2. Rob Dawson
    Feb 17, 2013

    These jokes are prosthetic. we shouldn't STAND for it.

  3. Patrick Frye
    Feb 18, 2013

    Friend of mine joked that the police did not need to jail him, or deny bail, they just needed to take his legs away to keep him from skipping town.

  4. Cassandra Lottering
    Feb 19, 2013

    Pathetic, Rob

  5. Adam Finch
    Feb 19, 2013

    uh?! Really?! No – these jokes are for people who really couldn't care less.

  6. Anonymous
    Feb 20, 2013

    @Thato you are an absolutely classic example of what is morally wrong with South Africa and Rob you are just an arrogant self centered dick…lets hope you two are personally touched by the crime wave in South Africa, maybe you will change your tune then.

  7. Jamie Lee Makaveli
    Feb 20, 2013

    Bet he'll be legless later

  8. Thato Motsoeneng
    Feb 20, 2013

    Oscar: "Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on
    a light. Reeva was not responding.

    "I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet
    door open.
    "I think I must then have turned on the lights.

    Prosecutor: "Liar! Liar! Your 'truth' is as prosthetic as your legs. The woman must have turned on the lights when she walked to the bathoom!!!

    *lol* hai, daai man o re shapa ka chaya str8!

  9. Matthew T. Mostes
    Feb 20, 2013

    Investigators are stumped; his defense will be cut-off at the knees by crippling allegations; etc., he's a joke and we were all duped, including the victim. He should be pilloried, and good for John Cleese although it was not his best offering…

  10. Li Mei Zhong
    Feb 21, 2013

    it's just time he stood on his own two feet