GQ Men of the Year Awards Descend Into Chaos Over Russell Brand, Nazis, Jews

The GQ Men of the Year awards is always a rather boisterous affair. When you stick a load of preened rock stars, comedians, actors and journalists in the same room, give them free alcohol and tell them how stylish and brilliant they are: things are going to happen. And they did.

The controversy began when Russell Brand arrived on-stage to collect his 'Oracle' award, reminding the audience that the event's sponsor - high end designer Hugo Boss - was responsible for designing the SS uniforms during World War II. For all intents and purposes, they were pretty snappy outfits, though probably a period on the designer's history that it would rather forget.

"If anyone knows a bit about history and fashion, you know it was Hugo Boss who made uniforms for the Nazis. But they looked f***ing amazing," said Brand, to gasps in the room at the Royal Opera House, according to the Evening Standard.

It wasn't the sickest joke in history, though journalist Charles Moore was less than impressed, using his time on-stage to hit back at the comedian over his mocking of Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs - a voicemail message that lost him his position on BBC Radio 2.

Collecting the award for writer of the year, Moore told the gathered fashionistas, "I was very interested when Russell Brand praised the stylishness of the Nazis, because of course that fits with the fact that they persecuted the Sachs in the 1930s when Andrew was a young man, and his family fled to this country. And then he was persecuted by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross in their disgusting telephone call."

Next to weigh in was Entourage actor Jeremy Piven, who was presenting the TV personality award to Piers Morgan, "This event is going on longer than my bar mitzvah, and I've been sitting in the corner sweating like a Hebrew slave. So thank you Russell, for pointing out the people that killed six million of my people," he said, to laughs.

It was left to guitarist Noel Gallagher to get the evening back on track and address the issue on everyone's lips, "It's nice to see the Foreign Secretary is here when there's sh*t going on abroad that needs to be sorted out," he said.

Other winners at the GQ Men of the Year award included Evening Standard and Independent owner Evgeny Lebedev, who won entrepreneur of the year, and Nick Grimshaw, who scored radio personality. Tom Ford won designer of the year.

See all our pictures from the GQ Men of the Year awards.

Tom Ford Won Designer of the Year