British actor and comedian John Cleese said Tuesday that the postponement of his upcoming shows in Israel was due to security concerns, contradicting earlier claims from the Israeli production company that had blamed pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“Contrary to the claims made by Alon Yurik Productions last night - which were subsequently reported - I am having to reschedule my shows in Israel planned for later this month following advice about safety," the 86-year-old actor wrote on X. "At 86, that is obviously all important.”
Cleese stressed that the shows, originally set for Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, have been postponed—not canceled. “I will rearrange these shows as soon as it's possible - and I would be happy to perform without receiving any fee,” he added. “I am hugely fond of Israeli audiences and send my sincere apologies to all the people who bought tickets.” He signed the message with his name and noted the date. Alongside his post, he added: "Some facts that need clarifying..."
As of Tuesday evening, the Israeli production company had not responded publicly to Cleese’s remarks.
Media reports of the cancellation of Cleese’s visit surfaced on Monday night, citing a statement from the production company that said: “We are deeply sorry that John Cleese succumbed to threats from BDS organizations, especially after all the tickets for his shows had been sold out for quite some time.” However, tickets were still listed as available at the time on the event website.
Cleese’s performances were originally scheduled for June but were delayed due to what the producers then described as “scheduling conflicts.” The shows were later rescheduled for November, before being postponed again this week. At the time of the first delay, organizers said tickets would be reassigned based on the order of the original bookings.
This would have marked Cleese’s second visit to Israel; he previously performed there in September 2019.
In recent months, Cleese has posted a range of political commentary on X, including criticisms of U.S. President Donald Trump, the war in Ukraine and the IDF. In response to a post calling the IDF “the most moral army in the world,” Cleese replied with a one-word comment: “Evil.”
Cleese is best known as a founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, which debuted in 1969 with “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” The group later produced iconic films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983). Cleese also created and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975) and co-wrote and acted in A Fish Called Wanda (1988), earning an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. More recently, he appeared in Roman Polanski’s 2023 film The Palace.