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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

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

After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its representation UTA, and the American state department cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing them to cancel a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

In his initial interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

This musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the corporation's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content guidelines in regard to harm and offence.

Vylan told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I strongly object with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his answer was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When questioned what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important 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 people are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of individuals going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Bands

As Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been criticised more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Irish 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 all things ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the opponent."