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Punk duo frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken punk duo sparked widespread debate when they led audience chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to cancel a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his first interview since the Glastonbury show, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the backlash the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

The artist said he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the network's broadcast of the show violated content guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

He told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

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

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

As he said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Irish band another band, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

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