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The frontman Bobby 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."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

The outspoken music pair ignited significant debate when they led audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its representation UTA, and the US state department cancelled the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion after the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the backlash the duo encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Feedback

The musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial standards in regard to offense and hurt.

He told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

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

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

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

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

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

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

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

Vylan also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their performance led to a spike in antisemitic events reported two days.

"I believe I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "because as with everything race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."