Bobby Vylan Position on Glastonbury Israel Defense Forces Protest: "No Remorse"
The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Chant and Political Responses
This vocal music pair ignited widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. The slogan was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."
After the incident, Bob Vylan was released by its representation United Talent Agency, and the American government cancelled the artists' visas, forcing them to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.
Conversation with the Podcaster
In his first public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:
"Absolutely. Like what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
The artist noted that the backlash the band faced was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."
Regarding the Protest's Significance
"I don't want to overstate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their support, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative news outlet?"
Unexpected Response and BBC Comments
The artist claimed he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."
Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the show breached content standards in relation to harm and hurt.
He told Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"
Response to Blur Frontman
Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the protest "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."
Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.
"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.
"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."
Intent Behind the Chant
After asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."
"The key issue is the conditions that persist to allow that chant to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local people are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the chant?" he said.
"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."
Rejection of Hate Speech Claims
The musician also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.
"I don't think I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of individuals going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he said.
Comparison with Different Artists
When he said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, the host referenced the Irish band Kneecap, who have also encountered criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.
"That's an interesting one," Vylan responded, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."