Bob Vylan's Position on Festival IDF Chant: "No Regrets"
The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Chant and Official Responses
The vocal music pair ignited widespread debate when they initiated audience calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This chant was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."
After the incident, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American state department cancelled the members' visas, forcing them to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.
Interview with the Podcaster
In his first public discussion after the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:
"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."
Regarding the Protest's Significance
"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some conservative politician or some conservative media?"
Surprising Response and Broadcaster Comments
The musician said he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."
However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content guidelines in regard to offense and offence.
He told Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"
Response to Blur Frontman
Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."
His comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he said.
"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo 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 only used around Nazi Germany," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."
Intent Behind the Chant
When asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."
"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.
"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."
Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations
Vylan also denied assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a rise in antisemitic events reported later.
"I believe I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.
Comparison with Other Bands
As Vylan mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.
"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with everything race becomes a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."