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

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

The outspoken music pair sparked widespread controversy when they led audience calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the American state department revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Conversation with the Podcaster

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

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band faced was "small compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

On the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Comments

The musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the show breached editorial guidelines in relation to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

After asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. In which the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the chant?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop 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. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance led to a spike in antisemitic incidents reported later.

"I believe I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Artists

As he said he thought the band had been criticised more severely than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host referenced the Irish group Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with all things ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an easier target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."