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

Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions

This outspoken music duo sparked significant debate when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the American state department cancelled the members' travel documents, compelling them to call off a planned North American tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his first interview after the festival performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like what if I was to go on 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 encountered was "small compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some conservative politician or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Feedback

The musician said he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that members of BBC staff at the event told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's airing of the performance violated content guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

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

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

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

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"The phrase 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 lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.

"I don't think I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he said.

Contrast with Different Bands

As he mentioned he felt the band had been criticised more severely than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "because as with everything race comes to play a factor in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."