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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

The outspoken music duo sparked widespread controversy when they initiated audience calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The slogan was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US government revoked the members' visas, forcing the duo to call off a planned US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the Glastonbury show, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band encountered was "small compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

On the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are 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 rightwing media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

The musician said he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and stated that members of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the show violated content guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

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

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. Where the Palestinian people are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety organisation, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish events reported later.

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

Comparison with Different Bands

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more heavily than others for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Irish band another band, who have likewise encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."