Bobby Vylan's Position on Glastonbury IDF Chant: "Zero Remorse"

Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

The outspoken music pair ignited widespread controversy when they initiated audience calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was released by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US government revoked the artists' visas, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion after the festival show, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the duo encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm advocating 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 politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

This musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's airing of the show violated content guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

He informed the host there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the views of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

After asked what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded two days.

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

Contrast with Other Artists

As Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

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

Kimberly Davis
Kimberly Davis

A passionate writer and researcher with a knack for uncovering hidden narratives and sharing compelling perspectives on life and culture.