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The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Official Responses

The vocal punk duo sparked significant controversy when they initiated audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the US government revoked the members' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first public discussion after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, using his birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance suppose I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the backlash the band encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

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

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

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's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that in some way the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"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 disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

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

"The key issue is the situation that persist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. In which the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of people acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

When he mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more severely than others for speaking about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based group another band, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."