Bobby Vylan's Stance on Glastonbury IDF Chant: "No Remorse"
The lead singer Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses
The vocal music duo ignited significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."
After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the members' visas, compelling them to call off a planned US and Canada tour.
Interview with Louis Theroux
During his initial interview since the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When asked if he would do it all again, he replied:
"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist added that the backlash the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."
Regarding the Protest's Importance
"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing news outlet?"
Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback
This musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."
Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later found that the BBC's airing of the show violated editorial standards in relation to harm and offence.
He told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"
Reply 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 Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."
His comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.
"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.
"I take great issue with the term 'marching' 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 answer was disgusting."
Intent Behind the Chant
When questioned what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the slogan itself was "unimportant."
"The key issue is the situation that persist to allow that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" 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 perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."
Rejection of Antisemitism Claims
The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.
"I believe I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of individuals going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.
Contrast with Other Bands
When he 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 group another band, who have also encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.
"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with all things race becomes a part in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."