Victoria Police probing comedian Tom Ballard after he appeared to use Nazi salute as part of skit at Melbourne comedy club

Victoria Police is probing comedian Tom Ballard after he appeared to use Nazi salutes as part of skit in Melbourne, the move coming as a senior Victorian minister warns he may have broken the law.

Victoria Police is probing whether a comedian who allegedly performed multiple Nazi salutes at his Melbourne show breached state laws.

Victoria’s multicultural affairs minister has also warned comedian Tom Ballard may have breached Victorian law after he was filmed performing what appeared to be a Nazi salute at least three times during a gig in Melbourne.

In a statement issued on Thursday, police said they were aware of the video and were now making enquiries.

“Victoria Police is aware of a video depicting a man allegedly performing a Nazi salute during a comedy performance in Melbourne,” a police spokeswoman said.

“At this stage we have not been made aware of any reports to police, however we are currently making enquiries about the incident.”

Tom Ballard has come under fire over a gesture in his Melbourne comedy show. Picture: Supplied

Multicultural Minister Ingrid Stitt lashed Mr Ballard on Thursday, warning he could be in breach of state laws that ban the Nazi salute.

Ms Stitt said there was “no place” for Nazi salutes in Victoria, even “in the context of comedy”.

“I don’t know how anybody could find that funny in the current context,” she said.

“There’s no place for that kind of hatred, even when it’s in the context of comedy.

“It’s a fine line and I think that people need to be sensitive to the hurt that’s going on in the community and the real, genuine feelings of insecurity among some in our community at the moment.”

Mr Ballard was performing a show at the Basement Comedy Club on Saturday night when he allegedly started using the Nazi salute in a skit, which prompted some Jewish members in the crowd to start filming.

Ballard started a bit on how “you aren’t allowed to do anything in Australia”, which prompted the first of many alleged salutes according to the audience members.

The 22 seconds of footage, which was sent to the Herald Sun, appears to show Ballard perform the salute at least three times.

Victoria banned the Nazi salute last year but there are several exceptions under the current legislation.

These include if a person performs the Nazi salute “reasonably and in good faith” for a genuine academic, artistic, educational, or scientific purpose.

Victorian Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Ms Stitt said she had not yet seen the video but had read the commentary, saying the laws were “pretty clear”.

“There is no place for those sorts of symbols, those sorts of actions,” she said.

“They do bring back terrible memories for people, people who are still alive in Victoria, who lived through the Holocaust.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich said using the holocaust as a source of humour is a “revolting display” of both “arrogance and ignorance”.

“Tom Ballard’s performance wasn’t comedy, it was cruelty disguised as humour,” he said.

“This wasn’t just a bad joke; it was a slap in the face to the victims, the Diggers who sacrificed their lives to defeat Hitler and to those who endured the atrocities of the Holocaust.

“The Nazi salute is not edgy or funny, it’s a weapon of hate, emboldening neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

“To use it for shock value is to desecrate the memory of six million Jews and millions of others murdered at the hands of the Third Reich and its collaborators.”

Dr Abramovich also called for the Basement Comedy Club to apologise for their “dismissive response” after Jewish members of the crowd raised their concerns.

“Instead of compassion, they offered ridicule,” he said. “The Basement Comedy Club should apologise, condemn Ballard’s actions and ensure their stage is never again used to peddle such hateful mockery.

“This isn’t about censoring humour. It’s about understanding that some tragedies are too sacred to exploit and some wounds too deep to reopen.”

Tom Ballard’s management and the Basement Comedy Club have both been contacted for comment.

It comes as Elon Musk ostensibly made a Nazi salute at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Originally published as Victoria Police probing comedian Tom Ballard after he appeared to use Nazi salute as part of skit at Melbourne comedy club