'I want reparations.' A raucous panel honoring the British comedy icon took an awkward turn at South by Southwest when the subject of colonization came up.
Now before we get to the reason you’re reading, it’s important to point out what happened was under the umbrella of “comedy panel.” Some attending might have very different views of the tone of this moment, which appeared to segue from comedy to cringe to offense. But it began with Sloan, a stand-up comic and To which Cleese defensively said people “forget the British Empire was the basic political unit of organization for 6,000 years – the British didn’t start [colonizing].
“The Dutch are the problem,” Sloan replied, and then proceeded to pivot away to another topic. And for a couple of moments, it seemed like the subject had passed.“[People] get competitive about this business of being oppressed,” Cleese said . “We were oppressed, the English, by the Romans for 400 [years], from about 0 to 400.”“This is getting so uncomfortable,” Valez said dryly. “[Is this the new] Dave Chappelle special?”“I want reparations from Italy,” Cleese said drawing shocked gasps.
At that point, Sloan stood up and confiscated Cleese’s microphone . Many were laughing and applauding, some weren’t, and it was hard to know how exactly to take it.“I saved a comic whose career I respect,” Sloan replied.