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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Reactions

The outspoken punk duo sparked significant controversy when they led audience chants of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a planned North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the festival performance, Vylan, using his birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. Like what if I was to perform at Glastonbury 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 backlash the duo encountered was "small compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, they're 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 upset some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The artist claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later found that the BBC's airing of the show violated editorial standards in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in sport gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan said.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he explained.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

After questioned what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," the artist said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"What is important 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 local people are being killed at an disturbing 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 entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

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

"I don't think I have caused an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

When he said he thought the duo had been criticised more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," Vylan said, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an easier villain, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the enemy."