Filmmaker Terry Gilliam said President Donald Trump helped loosen the fear-driven, politically correct culture in comedy in an interview Tuesday.
“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” director told The Hollywood Reporter that Trump “turned the world upside down,” loosening the grip of what he sees as humorless activism on the comedic landscape.
“I think Trump has changed things considerably,” Gilliam said. “He’s turned the world upside down. I don’t know if people are going to be laughing more, but they’re probably less frightened to laugh.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 02: Director Terry Gilliam arrives at the AFI FEST 2009 screening of Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” at the Chinese Theater on November 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI)
TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump dances as he leaves the stage after speaking at the Salute to America Celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on July 3, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The 84-year-old director ripped what he called the “narrow, self-righteous” attitude of left-wing activists who, he said, intimidated comedians into silence.
“There have been woke activists with a very narrow, self-righteous point of view,” Gilliam said. “That’s frightened so many people, and so many people have been very timid about telling jokes, making fun of things, because if you tell a joke, these people say you’re punching down at somebody.”
British comedy group Monty Python performing on stage at the New York City Center, New York, 20th April 1976. Left to right: Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Gilliam pushed back against the notion that making jokes about sensitive topics is inherently cruel, insisting that humor comes from observing human nature — flaws and all.
“No, you’re finding humor in humanity!” he said.
American-born British film director and animator Terry Gilliam on the set of ‘Jabberwocky’, August 1976. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The legendary filmmaker lamented what he called the death of irony and satire in the age of woke policing.
“So, irony, satire were basically dead. And humor, to me, is probably one of the most essential things in life. You’ve got six senses, and the seventh sense is humor, and if you don’t have that, life is going to be miserable,” Gilliam said. (RELATED: James Gunn Not-So-Subtly Turns New ‘Superman’ Movie Into Anti-Trump Salvo)
Gilliam, who rose to fame with the Monty Python troupe, is also known for cult classics like “12 Monkeys,” “Brazil” and “Jabberwocky.”
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