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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

This outspoken music pair ignited widespread controversy when they led audience chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. The chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US government revoked the artists' visas, compelling the duo to call off a planned North American concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the festival performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the backlash the band encountered was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Comments

This musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the show violated editorial standards in relation to harm and hurt.

He informed Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

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

His comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan said.

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

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their set contributed to a rise in antisemitic events reported later.

"I believe I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Different Artists

When he said he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Irish band another band, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "because as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the enemy."