Russell Brand: Apple More Infuriating Than War Or Racism

Russell Brand can be a harsh critic when it comes to capitalism and conservative politics. He’s said Fox News is “a contemporary myth,” Tony Abbott is a “raving lunatic” and Wall Street needs a revolution to fix. But Brand appears to have saved some of his most severe disapproval for the tech firm Apple.

“I was more angry that Apple changed their chargers so much than bad things like racism or war. “Racism, I’m like ‘that is really bad we’ve gotta stop racism and war … WHAT they’ve changed the chargers, I’m gonna kill someone!'”

Of course, Brand’s hyperbole was just a joke, but he still has a fair share of hatred for the company. According to US Weekly, he told the Huffington Post that their devices are made to expire. He added, “It aligns very neatly with the consumer capitalist narrative — sell as many things and make as much profit as possible.”

Still, Russell Brand participates in his own fair share of capitalist selling. He was appearing on the Huffington Post to promote his children’s book, The Pied Piper of Hamelin: Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales, a retelling of the classic Pied Piper story. According to the Wall Street Journal, Brand said that the book is a continuation of the ideas from his stand-up tour Messiah Complex.

Russell Brand is also selling Revolution, a political humor book he released in October. He may hate Apple and Fox News, but Brand still says he respects daytime news programs, mostly because he can’t afford not to.

“I could go on The Today Show, I can go on sort of celebrity type forums and I have to be respectful of the medium. You can’t afford to be snooty or condescending about that sort of media.”

So, why a children’s book?

Russell Brand explained his strategy to the Wall Street Journal.

“A person in meditation told me ‘Talk directly to children. They come through ready. Ready for new ideas.’ My belief has been if you talk to children in these fairy stories, which are ancient code for morality and ethics — you have a good chance of changing them and making them fertile to new messages, new ways of thinking.”

Ultimately that new way of thinking carries an important message for Brand.

“So this book is about don’t trust the system. Don’t trust society. Don’t trust institutions. Trust that in yourself, you’ve got a connection to a higher thing.”

Whether you agree with Russell Brand’s politics or not, it might be an interesting read.

[Image Credit: Eva Rinaldi/Wikimedia Commons]