When a news outlet accidentally released their pre-written obituary for Monty Python‘s Terry Gilliam, he couldn’t resist a sassy response.

One of the many, many bizarre aspects of a celebrity’s life is the knowledge that hundreds of people have already prepared their obituaries, just in case.

Major news outlets are in fact expected to have stock obituaries on hand for major ageing talents, as of course only timeliness is next to godliness in the journalism industry.

Variety accidentally released their obituary for the iconic British actor/writer/director Terry Gilliam last Tuesday, quickly deleting the post — but not before the headline “Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam, director of Brazil, dies at XXX” freaked a lot of people out.

Mistakes happen, and Variety quickly removed their post… Gilliam, however, wasn’t just gonna let it lie there (pun intended).

The 74-year-old comedian took to Facebook to “apologize for being dead,” complete with a hilarious post poking fun at Variety (which may or may not have written negative reviews of his movies):

All in all, a pretty funny incident, and Gilliam is certainly being a good sport about something which must feel eerily like attending his own funeral.

If we were Gilliam, we’d also suggest some alterations to the obituary. Since he already knows what it’s gonna say, may as well use it to his advantage!

Terry Gilliam, who is very much alive and active in the industry, recently had a small role in Terry Jones’ Absolutely Anything. He is currently in post-production on the latest movie he directed, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.