Bob Vylan Stance on Glastonbury IDF Chant: "Zero Regrets"

Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Reactions

The vocal punk pair ignited widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was released by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling them to cancel a planned US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the backlash the duo encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

On the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, these are the people that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

However, the corporation's ECU subsequently determined that the network's airing of the show breached content guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Slogan

After asked what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic incidents reported later.

"I don't think I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When he said he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."