Russell Brand targets Katy Perry’s romance with Justin Trudeau at Turning Point USA event

Comedian Russell Brand targeted the romance between Katy Perry and former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at a Turning Point USA event on Thursday. Brand, who was baptized in 2024 after several sexual assault allegations, told the crowd: "My ex-wife’s parents are here. They’re Christians, and I love them," and then added, "Katy Perry, I was married to her. I love her still, and I’m that glad her mom’s in the room to hear me say this. Look, I was OK with Orlando Bloom, but Justin Trudeau! C’mon, man, don’t put me in a category with that guy, that globalist stooge." A video of the moment circulated on social media.

Brand’s remarks came against a backdrop of Perry’s high-profile romance interests. Perry and Brand split after a little more than a year of marriage in 2011, with Perry saying the comedian ended their marriage by text. Perry and Trudeau had been linked in public reports since the summer, after she and actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares a 5-year-old daughter, ended their relationship. Brand has been married to Laura Gallacher since 2017.

The exchange underscored how celebrity personal lives can intersect with political discourse in contemporary media. The term Brand used to describe Trudeau—"globalist"—is a label that has circulated in conservative rhetoric and, at times, has been described as an antisemitic trope in online discourse. Observers noted that such language reflects broader patterns in entertainment coverage when personal relationships become fodder for public commentary.

From Perry’s perspective, the pairs and timelines involve several overlapping relationships: she and Brand divorced after a brief marriage in 2011; she later partnered with Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares a daughter, and has since been connected to Trudeau in reports that began circulating in the summer. Brand’s personal life has included a 2017 marriage to Laura Gallacher, a detail cited to provide context for his remarks and public persona during the event.

The video of Brand’s remarks circulated on social media soon after, prompting discussion about the intersection of celebrity culture, political rhetoric, and online amplification. There was no immediate public comment from Trudeau’s office or from Perry regarding the remarks at the time of publication, but the incident added to a string of entertainment headlines that blend pop culture with political commentary. The Turning Point USA event remains a focal point for discussions about media coverage of celebrity statements and the ways in which public figures reference personal histories in public forums.