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

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

This outspoken punk pair sparked significant debate when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. The slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' visas, compelling them to cancel a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion since the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

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

He added that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some conservative politician or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The musician claimed he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached content guidelines in relation to offense and offence.

He informed the host there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "marching in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.

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

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

After asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in the region. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" 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 sing songs. 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 safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish events recorded later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Artists

As Vylan said he thought the duo had been targeted more severely than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Irish band another band, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."