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

Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions

The outspoken music pair ignited significant debate when they led crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. This chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing them to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his first interview since the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the criticism the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Importance

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

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

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

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the performance violated editorial guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including staff at the BBC were like 'That 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 described Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist 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 conditions that are present in the region. In which the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'End, End 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. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

Vylan also denied claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic events reported two days.

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

Comparison with Different Bands

When Vylan mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the enemy."