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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Political Responses

The outspoken punk duo sparked significant controversy when they initiated audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the event, the band was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his initial public discussion after the festival performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When asked if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. For instance suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes 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 faced was "small compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have their backing, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some rightwing official or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

This musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of BBC staff at the event told him on the day that the set was "excellent."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later determined that the network's airing of the performance breached editorial standards in regard to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

After questioned what he meant by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that persist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

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

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Bands

When Vylan said he felt the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, the host brought up the Irish group another band, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."