Bob Vylan Stance on Festival Israel Defense Forces Protest: "Zero Remorse"

The frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

This outspoken punk pair sparked significant debate when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer performance. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the American state department revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his first public discussion after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have their backing, they're the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Feedback

The artist claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

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

Intent Behind the Chant

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. Where the local 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 play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic events recorded two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Bands

When he said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "because as with everything race becomes a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."

Douglas Castro
Douglas Castro

A passionate gamer and tech writer with over a decade of experience in creating detailed guides and reviews.