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The frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

The vocal punk duo ignited widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the American state department revoked the members' visas, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

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

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm advocating for, these are the people 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 Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This musician said he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the chant, and stated that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated editorial guidelines 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 came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Blur Frontman

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," 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

After asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. In which the local people are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also denied claims from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported later.

"I believe I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative impact here," he said.

Contrast with Other Bands

As Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been targeted more severely than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Irish group another band, who have also faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an easier target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."