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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions

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

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the American state department revoked the members' visas, forcing them to cancel a planned North American tour.

Conversation with the Podcaster

In his initial public discussion after the festival performance, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like suppose 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 criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

This musician said he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that members of BBC employees at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

However, the corporation's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached content guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed the host there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "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 thought anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

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

Intent Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the Palestinian population are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase 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 play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

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

"I believe I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Bands

As he mentioned he thought the band had been criticised more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "since as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."