A former member of the Pussycat Dolls appeared to describe Israelis as “entitled evil Nazis” in an Instagram post expressing her views on the war in Gaza.

US singer Melody Thornton uploaded an image on Thursday morning of the word “Palestine”, with the letter “l” replaced by an outline of the state of Israel, filled in with the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Thornton's original Instagram post before the word "Nazis" was scrubbed (Photo: Instagram)

In a caption accompanying the picture, Thornton, 39, wrote: “I have had very dark moments since October. I have managed not to accepted [sic] declined mental health as a new norm since the pandemic.”

Turning to Israel’s war on Hamas she continued: “Idk [I don’t know] if you’ve noticed a lot of people haven’t come back from that and then this.

“When men corner, starve and massacre women and children…I’m a grown women and I can’t believe my eyes. Cowards you are funding the murder of innocent Palestinians. Entitled Evil Nazis. That’s what you are.”

Thornton, 39, was a member of the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2010 and continues to work as a singer, recently taking on the lead role in the UK stage production of The Bodyguard. She has 154,000 Instagram followers, but deactivated the comments when posting about Israel.

Since the post was originally uploaded, it has been edited, with the word “Nazis” scrubbed.

The final sentences have been changed so they now read: “Evil. Entitled. That’s what you are.”

Comparing contemporary Israeli policy to the policies and actions of the Nazis is a form of Holocaust inversion and Holocaust distortion, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.

The World Jewish Congress has detailed how this is an act of distortion and inversion, stating: “The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is a territorial and political one, whereas the Holocaust was the attempt to systematically annihilate European Jewry.”

It continues: “Despite the unfortunate outbreak of violence during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian population has grown by all metrics, and is projected to continue doing so. To compare this to the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust is preposterous and diminishes the pain of those who have suffered during the conflict.

Thornton was one of the main vocalists in the Pussycat Dolls when the group formed in 2003, performing alongside fellow members including Nicole Scherzinger and Ashley Roberts, until the group disbanded seven years later.

She featured in the latest UK series of The Masked Singer earlier this year.

Thornton was approached for comment.