Bobby Vylan Position on Festival Israel Defense Forces Protest: "Zero Remorse"

The frontman 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."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Responses

The outspoken music duo sparked widespread debate when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American government revoked the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a planned North American tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his first interview after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

Regarding the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Feedback

The musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and stated that members of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's airing of the show violated content guidelines in relation to harm and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

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

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

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

Intent Behind the Slogan

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

"What is important is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the local 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 spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

Vylan also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish events reported later.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a bad effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Bands

As Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the opponent."