Bobby Vylan's Stance on Festival Israel Defense Forces Chant: "Zero Remorse"

Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Reactions

This outspoken music duo sparked widespread controversy when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US government revoked the artists' visas, compelling them to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the band faced was "small compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have their backing, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Feedback

The artist said he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached editorial guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

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

Intent Behind the Chant

When questioned what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

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

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I believe I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Artists

When he said he felt the band had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have likewise encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."