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The frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Official Responses

The outspoken music duo sparked significant controversy when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the US government revoked the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a planned North American tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

During his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

Regarding the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

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

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's broadcast of the show violated editorial guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

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

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic events recorded two days.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Other Bands

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host brought up the Irish group another band, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."