A Miami nightclub has fired three employees and permanently banned a group of antisemitic influencers, including far-right podcaster and “groyper” leader Nick Fuentes, blogger Myron Gaines and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate, after the club played the Kanye (“Ye”) West song, “Heil Hitler” on Jan. 17.
A widely circulated video shows the group in the VIP section of Vendome singing along to West’s song, which has been banned on major music streaming platforms.
“A group of influencers who bolster antisemitism with their hateful behavior walk into a club in Miami and request Ye’s ‘Heil Hitler’ song … No, this isn’t the setup of a joke. It actually happened. And guess what? The nightclub shamefully obliged,” the Anti-Defamation League said.
“Why would a nightclub play a song that glorifies Hitler and was banned by multiple streaming platforms?” the ADL asked rhetorically. “Imagine being Jewish, out for a fun night, and now you’re surrounded by people performing Nazis salutes to a song that glorifies the individual responsible for murdering 6 million other Jews. This is not ok.”
Vendome said on Jan. 19 that it had completed an interview review. “This isolated incident involved three people which have been terminated from their employment,” the club stated. “We have also permanently banned the individuals involved in this incident from the Vendome premises.”
It also acknowledged that the episode “should never have occurred,” and that it has implemented new safeguards to make sure that its venue “is never used as a platform for discrimination, hate, antisemitism or any other behavior harmful towards our community.”
JNS sought comment from Vendome but did not immediately hear back.
After the footage was circulated, Vendome released a statement saying it was “conducting an internal review to understand the circumstances surrounding how this requested song came to be played during a bottle parade. We will take immediate action to hold the responsible parties accountable.”
The club noted that “our ownership and leadership reflect a diverse group of partners, backgrounds and faiths, including members of the Jewish community, and we are deeply disturbed by the harm caused by this incident and the circulation of this footage.”
Vendome was founded by Jonathan Mansour, Adel Bourkia, Byram Zaied and Fallou Bathily, all French. Local outlets are reporting that Mansour can be spotted in the video.
Steven Meiner, the Orthodox Jewish mayor of Miami Beach, Fla., said he was “deeply disturbed by these videos of twisted individuals glorifying Hitler and the murder of millions.”
“Miami Beach is a welcoming, inclusive city built by people of all backgrounds and faiths,” he said. “These ‘influencers’ who spread hate should never have been welcomed into this club or allowed to play a song with ‘Heil Hitler’ lyrics that has been universally condemned.”
Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County, called the incident “deeply disturbing and unacceptable.” She stated that “we stand against antisemitism and all hate, and expect swift accountability to keep our community safe and respectful for all.”
