Russell Brand has come under fire for praising Kanye West’s new track Heil Hitler, which repeats the Nazi salute in its lyrics and was released on 8 May, the anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
Brand described the song as having a “good hook” in a recent post on X, sparking condemnation from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which said his comments risk legitimising antisemitism.
“Could the so-called hook be that the phrase ‘Heil Hitler’ is repeated over and over?” the CAA wrote. “Playing with Nazi slogans is not edgy or brave, and neither is Russell Brand.”
The group added that Brand’s remarks were either a “desperate attempt to chase clicks through controversy” or a sign of deeper disregard for Holocaust memory, warning that either way, the outcome was the same: “he trivialises one of history’s darkest chapters”.
The backlash comes just weeks after West, who now goes by Ye, posted a black-and-white image of Adolf Hitler on social media, accompanied by a goat emoji, commonly interpreted as shorthand for “Greatest of All Time”.
West’s history of antisemitic comments includes declaring: “I’m a Nazi” and “I don’t like or trust no Jewish person… this is completely sober with no Hennessy.”
Brand, who faces charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault, has himself previously apologised for invoking Nazi imagery.
During a live show in 2015, he referred to a Jewish audience member as a “young Nazi” after mistaking a raised hand for a Hitler salute. He later admitted the remark was “insensitive and antisemitic”.
Jewish News has contacted Russell Brand’s representatives for comment.
