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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Responses

The outspoken punk pair sparked widespread controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. The chant was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the band encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Protest's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

This musician said he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's airing of the performance breached editorial guidelines in relation to offense and hurt.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

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

"What is important is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. In which the local people are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "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 lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic events reported two days.

"I believe I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he said.

Contrast with Different Artists

When he mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, Theroux brought up the Ireland-based group another band, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan responded, "since as with everything race becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."