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Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Official Responses

This vocal music pair ignited significant debate when they initiated crowd chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. This chant was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US government cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Feedback

This artist said he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's broadcast of the show violated content standards in regard to harm and offence.

Vylan informed the host there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

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

"What is important is the conditions that persist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

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

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a rise in antisemitic incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

As he said he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."