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

Controversial Exclamation and Official Responses

The outspoken punk pair ignited significant debate when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its representation UTA, and the US state department cancelled the artists' visas, forcing the duo to call off a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his first interview after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the criticism the duo faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The artist claimed he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and asserted that staff of BBC employees at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later found that the BBC's airing of the performance breached editorial guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Slogan

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

"The key issue is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Rejection of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a rise in antisemitic events recorded later.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals going out and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Bands

As Vylan said he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Irish group Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "because as with everything race comes to play a factor in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."