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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Official Reactions

The outspoken music pair ignited widespread debate when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, the band was released by its representation UTA, and the US government revoked the artists' travel documents, compelling the duo to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the criticism the band encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, these are the people that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Comments

This musician claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit subsequently determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in regard to offense and hurt.

He told Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response 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 characterized him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

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

"What is important is the situation that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

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

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic incidents recorded later.

"I believe I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Bands

As he said he thought the duo had been criticised more severely than others for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."