Bobby Vylan's Position on Festival Israel Defense Forces Chant: "No Regrets"

Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

The outspoken punk pair sparked widespread debate when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American state department revoked the members' visas, forcing them to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the backlash the duo encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Comments

The musician claimed he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's airing of the show violated content standards in regard to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the politics of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Chant

After asked what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a rise in antisemitic events reported two days.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Different Artists

When Vylan mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based group another band, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "because as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."