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The frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

The outspoken punk pair ignited significant debate when they led crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled North American tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first public discussion since the festival show, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

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

He added that the backlash the band faced was "small compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."

On the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the individuals 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 angered some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached content standards in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Including staff 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 characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase '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 disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

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

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. Where the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.

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

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of individuals acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Bands

As Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish band another band, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "since as with everything ethnicity becomes a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."