Cleese was acting in solidarity with someone who did something (at least apparently) similar to what he has done in the past but was actually cancelled for it (

Cleese was acting in solidarity with someone who did something (at least apparently) similar to what he has done in the past but was actually cancelled for it (because a lot of people here don't seem to think it happens). By not appearing, he's made international headlines, which is the point. If he were to have appeared, probably nothing would have happened. As a result, the student's union has changed their tune a bit, so at least he's had some impact. The broader point Cleese is making is that he's been poking people in the eye for generations, but now there's a 'new establishment' keen to try to deride him and his peers and that he's taking the same position now, as he would have 30 years ago. There's a famous debate between him and a very conservative intellectual regarding the 'Life of Brian' and it's religious implications, I'm looking forward to that debate in 2020. The term 'woke' is a bit needlessly incendiary, but it's fully within his perogative. Cleese is on the right side of history.