Russell Brand On Edward Snowden: 'There Needs To Be A Structural Shift In How We Regard Leaders'

Russell Brand stopped by HuffPost Live on Tuesday and shared some thoughts on the NSA's leaked domestic surveillance program and the self-outed whistleblower Edward Snowden.

"I believe there needs to be a structural shift in how we regard leaders," Brand told host Josh Zepps. "In old times ... our chiefs would be in our service. These people would be replaced if they betrayed us. They would know that the privilege afforded to them came at great expense."

The actor, comedian and astute blogger said the revealed NSA program -- which records domestics telephony metadata and other electronic communications -- constituted "a betrayal of our trust" and took issue with how the media and government have painted Snowden and WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning. "They make it about personalities, about superficialities," he said. "'Oh, this bloke fancies fellas,' or 'he looks weird.' I saw something on the news the other day, where they were talking to Edward Snowden's neighbors, asking them, 'Are you surprised he did this?' Don't make it personal, that's not the important issue. The important issue is that data is being taken."

Brand went further, arguing that the change must be "significant" and is something that would ultimately require a "revolution." Watch the clip above for more, including why Brand thinks politicians have favored the rich rather than the good of the wider society.

WATCH THE FULL SEGMENT AT HUFFPOST LIVE.