Bobby Vylan's Stance on Festival Israel Defense Forces Protest: "Zero Remorse"
The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Chant and Official Reactions
The vocal music pair ignited significant debate when they initiated crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. This chant was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."
After the event, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the American state department revoked the artists' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.
Conversation with the Podcaster
In his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:
"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist added that the backlash the band encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are going through."
Regarding the Protest's Importance
"I don't want to overstate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some rightwing official or some conservative media?"
Surprising Reaction and BBC Comments
This musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."
Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.
He informed the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"
Response to Blur Frontman
Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "marching in sport gear."
His reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.
"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.
"I take great issue 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."
Meaning Behind the Slogan
After asked what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "insignificant."
"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the local people are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" 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. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."
Denial of Antisemitism Claims
The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents recorded two days.
"I don't think I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.
Contrast with Other Artists
When he mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.
"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "since as with all things ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."