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

Disputed Chant and Official Reactions

This vocal punk pair sparked significant controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' visas, forcing them to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his initial public discussion since the festival performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are 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 news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The artist claimed he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and asserted that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the performance breached content guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

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

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

"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 disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

When asked what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the local people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their performance contributed to a spike in antisemitic events recorded later.

"I believe I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When he mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host referenced the Irish group Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "because as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."