'As funny as the death toll': John Cleese is slammed on Twitter after he shares a joke about the California wild fires that have claimed the lives of 50 people (11 Pics)

John Cleese has been slammed on social media after he branded a joke about California's wildfires 'magnificent'.

The veteran British actor, 79, took to Twitter to share a joke he'd heard while dining out at a restaurant in Sacremento, California.

The US state is currently besieged by wild fires, with the death toll currently at 50, with hundreds of animals also thought to have perished and thousands left homeless. 

Poor taste? John Cleese sparked a Twitter storm after posting a joke he'd heard about the California wildfires while dining out at a restaurant in Sacremento. The 79-year-old actor called the joke 'magnificent' 

Some 50 people have now died in the California wildfires with the town of Paradise - the subject of the joke Cleese shared - among the worst-hit areas, with 48 people succumbing to the raging flames (Pictured: The Woolsey Fire burns in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area)

The Monty Python actor divided opinion after he tweeted his experience after dining out at Italian restaurant Lucca. 

He wrote: 'Invited tonight to a Sacramento restaurant called Lucca, by the owner Erin.

'She said that last night several people came in to eat who were from Paradise, the place that just burned to the ground. 

'She told me that they wanted everything they ordered flambeed. Magnificent...' 

At least 48 people have been killed in the northern Camp Fire, close to the town of Paradise, and two more have perished in the southern Woolsey Fire, which has consumed much of Malibu.

Deeply offended, @LennyBellows replied: 'As funny as the dozens of people that burned to death.' 

@Jeff_in_3D agreed, saying: 'I can't tell if this is a joke in very poor taste or somehow a real story. 

'The thing about good humor, even his style of humor, is that it's tasteful. dry humor can still be tasteful. There's nothing tasteful about this, especially while the fire is still burning.' 

Cleese defended posting the tweet and clarified that he had genuinely been told the story by the owner of the Sacramento restaurant. 

The actor said: 'But it was their joke, and they were the ones who had suffered. That's what makes it magnificent.'

Others, however, defended the joke, saying humour is necessary in difficult times. 

'@gingeriffic_knh wrote: 'I'm from south Louisiana. I lived through Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and the floods that destroyed my parents' home two years ago. 

'If you can't have humor after you've lost everything else, what can you have?'