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The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Responses

This outspoken punk duo ignited widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation UTA, and the American state department revoked the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled North American tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his first interview since the Glastonbury show, the musician, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Oh yeah. For instance suppose I was to perform at 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 Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating 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 rightwing official or some rightwing news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

The artist said he was taken aback by the outcry sparked by the chant, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial guidelines in relation to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Even crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

His comment was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to allow that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the Palestinian population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of individuals going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

As Vylan said he felt the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, the host referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."