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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

The outspoken punk duo ignited widespread debate when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like what if 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."

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

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some rightwing official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

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

However, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's airing of the show violated editorial guidelines in relation to offense and hurt.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Including crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the politics of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Chant

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

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to allow that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local people are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase 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. Perfect chant."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in antisemitic incidents reported two days.

"I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

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

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with everything race becomes a part in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."