Aussie senator defends picking 'Heil Hitler' as his song of the week - after fury erupts over his love of the Kanye West track

Daily Mail​

15-05-2025

A controversial 'Make Australia Great Again' politician has doubled down on his decision to choose Kanye West 's song 'Heil Hitler', as his 'song of the week'.
Ralph Babet, a senator for Clive Palmer's United Australia Party, earlier this week shared a post not only endorsing West's song but also announcing he'd rather associate with neo-Nazis than the 'mentally ill' and 'baby-killing' left-wing.
In the song, West refers to himself as a Nazi and plays audio of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose reign of terror led to the murder of six-million Jews in the Holocaust.
The post sparked outrage from Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich, who warned it signalled a larger, dangerous issue and called on United Australia leader Clive Palmer to sack Babet from the party.
The controversial senator has since defended his song choice.
'I like Kanye West. He's a great artist… If someone else doesn't like what he puts out, don't buy it. Don't listen to it,' Babet told The Australian.
'But don't you f**king dare tell me what I can and can't listen to.'
'If they're going to try and associate me with being a Nazi - a brown immigrant from Africa - that's f**king bulls**t. You know it. I know it.'
When approached for comment by Daily Mail Australia, Babet pointed to a post on X, formerly Twitter, with his interpretation of West's song.
'The entire point of the song, as would be clear to anyone who even bothered to do even a minimal amount of homework, is that Hitler is bad,' Babet wrote.
'That's right. The point of the song is that Adolf Hitler is bad. He is the personification of evil and mental illness.
'The song begins with Kanye West confessing that he is filled with rage and anger. Worse, he is hopelessly addicted to drugs. Then he admits, 'I'm the villain.
'It's in that context he sings 'Heil Hitler', not to acknowledge Hitler's desire to kill Jews but in the sense that Hitler, in our culture, has come to mean the devil.'
Dr Abramovich was outraged to learn that a sitting Australian senator funded by the taxpayer endorsing a song glorifying Hitler.
'This is not a clumsy joke,' Dr Abramovich told Daily Mail Australia.
'When a federal parliamentarian publicly declares that a track titled 'Heil Hitler' is his favourite of the week, the alarm bells shouldn't be ringing - they should be deafening.
'This is not free speech. This is a public meltdown of moral responsibility.'
Dr Abramovich explained the unashamed glorification of Hitler, seemingly without tangible consequences, will only give rise to far-right groups.
The use of the genocide leader's name in trivial content, like a social media post, only works to numb viewers from atrocities driven by discrimination.
'Hitler is not a meme or a punchline. His name stands for genocide, mass murder, and gas chambers,' Dr Abramovich said.
'It is carved into the bones of six-million Jews and millions more victims.
'And now, a senator is casually promoting that name like it's just another track in a playlist.'
Adding to Dr Abramovich's concern is Babet's proud narrow-mindedness, which is often applauded by his supporters.
'This same elected official says he'd rather associate with a neo-Nazi group than with Australians he disagrees with,' he said.
'He calls his fellow citizens 'retarded', 'baby-killing', and 'mentally ill' - and then shrugs it off with a smirk.
'What message does this send? That hatred is fashionable? That praising Nazi propaganda is just a vibe? That slurs and incitement are acceptable if you're wearing a suit?
'If a song titled 'Heil Hitler' is now being celebrated by someone sitting in the Australian Senate, what dark corner is left to reach?'
Other Aussies were also outraged by Babet's post.
'This outrageous rubbish comes from a senator in the Australian parliament. In my view, he is not a fit and proper person to continue in that role,' one man wrote.
Dr Abramovich called Mr Palmer to send a message to all Neo-Nazis.
'I am calling on Clive Palmer to immediately disendorse Senator Ralph Babet and to unequivocally condemn these abhorrent and dehumanising remarks,' he said.
'If he stays silent, he is complicit.
'This is not about left or right. This is about right and wrong. Australia must be better than this.
'The senator says he likes the song. I say this will be remembered as the moment we either stood up or stood by.'
Babet was elected to the Senate for Victoria in 2022.
He announced he will not run again following his current term, which ends in June 2028.