Bob Vylan's Position on Festival Israel Defense Forces Protest: "No Regrets"
The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Controversial Exclamation and Political Responses
The outspoken punk pair sparked widespread debate when they initiated crowd chants 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 labeled it as "shocking hate speech."
Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' visas, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.
Conversation with the Podcaster
During his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:
"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist added that the criticism the duo faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."
On the Protest's Importance
"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"
Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback
This musician said he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."
However, the corporation's executive complaints unit later found that the network's airing of the performance breached editorial standards in relation to offense and hurt.
Vylan told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"
Reply to Damon Albarn
Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."
Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.
"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.
"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was disgusting."
Intent Behind the Chant
When asked what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."
"The key issue is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an disturbing 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 caught on, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."
Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations
Vylan also denied assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish events recorded two days.
"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.
Comparison with Other Artists
When he mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.
"That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."