Bobby Vylan's Stance on Festival Israel Defense Forces Chant: "Zero Remorse"
Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."
Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions
The vocal music duo sparked significant controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who labeled it as "shocking hate speech."
After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its representation UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.
Conversation with Louis Theroux
In his first interview since the festival show, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. After asked if he would do it all again, he replied:
"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes 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 duo encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."
On the Protest's Importance
"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their backing, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some rightwing media?"
Surprising Response and Broadcaster Comments
The musician said he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."
Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the show violated content standards in regard to harm and hurt.
Vylan told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"
Response to Blur Frontman
Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."
Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.
"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.
"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."
Intent Behind the Chant
After asked what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "unimportant."
"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 exist in Palestine. In which the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.
"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect slogan."
Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations
The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their performance led to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported later.
"I don't think I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.
Contrast with Different Bands
As Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, the host brought up the Irish band another band, who have likewise faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.
"That's an interesting one," he said, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."