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Punk duo frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Reactions

This vocal music pair sparked widespread controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled North American tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his initial interview since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the duo faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have their backing, these are the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Feedback

The musician said he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's broadcast of the performance breached editorial guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," 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 "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that persist to allow that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the Palestinian people are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

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

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.

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

Contrast with Different Bands

As Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, the host referenced the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "since as with everything ethnicity becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."