🔗 Share this article

The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Reactions

This vocal music duo ignited significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the American government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to cancel a planned North American tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial interview since the festival show, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the backlash the band faced was "small compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Feedback

This musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and stated that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the BBC's airing of the show violated editorial guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom 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 continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Chant

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

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

Rejection of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their performance led to a rise in antisemitic incidents reported later.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Different Artists

As Vylan said he thought the duo had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have also faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with everything ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an easier target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."