Bob Vylan Position on Festival IDF Protest: "Zero Regrets"

The lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Political Responses

This vocal punk pair sparked significant debate when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the American government cancelled the artists' visas, compelling them to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first public discussion since the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to go on 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 backlash the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Chant's Significance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have their backing, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some rightwing official or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Comments

This musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later found that the network's broadcast of the performance breached content guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

He informed the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Chant

After questioned what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian people are being slain at an alarming 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 play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

Vylan also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish events recorded two days.

"I believe I have created an hostile 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 effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Bands

As Vylan said he thought the band had been criticised more severely than others for speaking about the conflict, the host brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

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

Ashley Archer
Ashley Archer

Elara is a certified mixologist with over a decade of experience in craft cocktail creation and bar management.