Eric Idle has spoken out about his former co-star John Cleese, following the Monty Python icon's flurry of political posts on X/Twitter. The pair famously starred in the beloved BBC sitcom for five years before gaining international stardom after Monty Python became a hit with American viewers. In the years since the troupe's 1985 split, the pair have been embroiled in a long-running feud about the brand and its finances, which have largely played out publicly.

Among the accusations of "bullying" and "lying", their dispute has been reignited after Idle revealed just how deep their rift has become and confirmed they have not spoken in over a decade. With Cleese becoming a staunch political commentator and inundating his followers' posts with commentary on the government and policy, one fan was forced to ask Idle if the actor's social media account had been "hacked".

To which the comedian swiftly responded and admitted: "Actually, I'm not. I haven't seen him for ten years."

Other longtime fans were left disappointed by this revelation, as one commented: "Sad, but fair enough." As another praised: "That was elegantly done, Eric."

A third remarked: "It's sad to see. The genius of you guys together created so much joy."

"Thats sad. You two are among our favourite people on the planet," echoed another.

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Among their bitter exchanges, Idle has repeatedly claimed that Cleese dismissed the troupe's longtime manager, Jim Beach, an old friend of Idle's, and replaced him with Holly Gilliam, the daughter of fellow Python member Terry Gilliam.

Cleese has strongly denied his version of events, insisting Beach stepped down after suffering a stroke and that Gilliam, who had been working under him, simply took over the role.

Speaking on the Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast in 2024, Idle previously said: "We don't disagree about comedy; this is only about money. This is only about business.

"There's no right or wrong way to deal with business, and if somebody has one view of it and somebody has another, those can lead to very bad arguments."