John Cleese, a former member of “Monty Python,” criticized those he referred to as the “wokes” and discussed the present climate for performers with many people waiting in the crowd for the “thrill of getting offended.”

The 83-year-old comic discussed political correctness and “wokeism,” which he dubbed the enemies of creativity and fun, during a lengthy interview for Reason.com’s January 2023 issue. “Wakeism,” according to the “Fawlty Towers” actor, is “the internal disruption” of the creative process.

“You think of an idea and you immediately think: ‘Oooh, is that going to get me into trouble? Well, that person last Thursday got away with it,’” Cleese shared. “But all that stuff immediately stops you from being creative.”

“The woke people, I think, miss something quite badly,” he added. “The meaning of a word depends on its context. If I use sarcasm, then what I’m meaning is the opposite of the words I’m actually saying. If you don’t get irony, then if you take it seriously, you completely misunderstand the intention of the writer or speaker.”

Monty Python legend @JohnCleese on giving offense and getting laughs https://t.co/g6ukBw4Yg7

— reason (@reason) December 18, 2022

“There are people sitting there who are deliberately waiting for the thrill of being offended,” Cleese continued.

The star of “A Fish Called Wanda” added that he has long since come to understand the value of laughing in aiding our recovery from life’s challenges and tragedies.

It involves this thing of laughing at oneself, and it brings us to a region of our minds where we’re probably healthier than we are at any other time, the actor said. Despite how funny they are, “I’m not so confident that the wokes would ever laugh at themselves.”

The well-known British comedian has previously spoken out strongly against the “woke” movement, calling them the new “authoritarians,” as was previously reported, and even revealed intentions to host a new, as-yet-untitled program on GB News.

“Like all people who believe that are purer than they actually are, they are authoritarians,” Cleese previously tweeted about his new show. “Which is why all the best comedians make fun of them.”

The comic will collaborate on the 2023 television program with political satire and comedian Andrew Doyle, according to Variety. Nothing has yet been made available