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

Disputed Chant and Official Responses

This outspoken punk duo sparked widespread controversy when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American state department revoked the members' visas, forcing them to call off a scheduled North American tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

On the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their support, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Comments

This musician said he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU later found that the network's airing of the show breached content guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in sport gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' 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 meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that persist to allow that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

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

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their performance led to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he said.

Comparison with Other Artists

When Vylan said he felt the band had been criticised more severely than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."