Bobby Vylan's Position on Glastonbury IDF Protest: "Zero Remorse"
The frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions
The outspoken music pair ignited widespread controversy when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."
Following the incident, the band was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' visas, forcing the duo to call off a planned US and Canada tour.
Conversation with Louis Theroux
In his initial interview after the festival performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:
"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
He added that the criticism the duo encountered was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."
On the Protest's Importance
"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have their support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some conservative media?"
Surprising Response and BBC Feedback
The musician claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."
Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit subsequently found that the network's airing of the performance breached editorial standards in regard to offense and offence.
He told the host there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"
Response to Damon Albarn
Vylan also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized him as "marching in sport gear."
His reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.
"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.
"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."
Intent Behind the Chant
When asked what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."
"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.
"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."
Denial of Hate Speech Allegations
The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.
"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.
Comparison with Different Artists
As Vylan mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine messaging.
"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with everything ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."