"Elvis was controversial for a while"— Russell Brand claims Kanye's new song is trying to bring ideas into a "culture that rewards homogeneity"

Actor and comedian Russell Brand recently expressed his appreciation for Kanye West's new song. On May 8, 2025, Kanye released the track Heil H*tler on all platforms. The song was almost immediately removed from Spotify and Soundcloud; however, it remains on X.

As reported by The Jerusalem Post, West's song features African-American men wearing animal skins and repeating the hook "All my n****s Nazis, n***a Heil H*tler."

On May 15, Brand took to his podcast Stay Free with Russell Brand to claim that Kanye was attempting to be an avant-garde artist, much like many of the greats.

"Who's avant-garde in the mainstream now? Who's like, 'Whoa, this person's pushing buttons.'? And when I say avant-garde, think about Elvis, man. Elvis was controversial for a while. 'This guy's a bit too s*xual, cut his hair and get him in the army.' "

A screenshot of Russell's X post (Image via X/@rustyrockets)

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Russell Brand's comments about Kanye's new song explored

Russell Brand claimed that Ye's new song Heil H*tler was an attempt at bringing "ideas together" rather than praising Adolf H*tler.

"I don't think that Kanye is saying, 'Do you know what, H*tler's a good bloke.' What I sense in it as an observer is he's playing, he's trying to bring ideas together and create a result in a culture that rewards homogeneity."

Brand also claimed that more people would be "avant-garde" if it were not for commerce and the lack of advertisements and financial support they would receive from public companies.

"People continually select towards the banalizing center because why? Because of commerce. Because advertisers won't advertise on late night TV."

He cited Stephen Colbert's "Vax-Scene" skit from June 2021 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as an example.

Previously, on May 13, Russell Brand posted on X, showing his support for West's song. Brand included a clip of the track and wrote,

"Kanye West is uncancellable because he reached such a zenith in the culture that he couldn't be killed. I think people would like it if he died. Why? Because he's a problem for their agenda."

He acknowledged in the accompanying video that Ye wasn't a "perfect person" but stated that most artists were not. He also remarked that the song had a "good hook," saying,

"Be honest, how many of you have still got N word Heil H*itler in your head? Because I have. That's a good hook."

Celebrity Sightings - Paris Fashion Week - Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 (Image via Getty)

As reported by Jewish News, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) took to X on May 13 to express their disapproval of Russell Brand's statements. The CAA wrote that even if Brand's comments were a ploy to generate more views and revenue for his content, they were still "dangerous."

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The allegations against Russell Brand

According to EURweb, on April 4, 2025, Russell Brand was formally charged with r*pe and s*xual assault. As per Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, Brand was charged with two counts of r*pe, indecent assault, and two counts of s*xual assault. He was accused by four women who alleged that the assaults occurred between 1999 and 2005.

The allegations came two days after Brand invited Ye for a "chat" while donning KKK robes. He wrote:

"Hey @kanyewest - let’s suit up and chat! You wear your KKK robes I’ll wear white KKK ones and we’ll bring about Ku Klux Harmony."

Brand denied the allegations and issued a public statement on X on April 4, in which he admitted to being a "drug addict and a s*x addict" before meeting his wife, Laura Gallacher, but denied participating in non-consensual activities.

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Kanye West has yet to respond to Russell Brand's statements.