Bobby Vylan Stance on Glastonbury IDF Protest: "No Regrets"

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

Controversial Chant and Official Reactions

This vocal punk pair ignited widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. This chant was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, the band was dropped by its representation UTA, and the American government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling the duo to cancel a scheduled North American concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his initial public discussion after the festival show, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Oh yeah. For instance suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the criticism the duo encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This musician claimed he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC staff at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU later found that the network's airing of the performance breached content guidelines in relation to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

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

Intent Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents recorded later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than others for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Irish group Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with everything race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."

Kristina Larson
Kristina Larson

A passionate storyteller and digital content creator, Elara crafts engaging narratives that captivate readers worldwide.