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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Reactions

This vocal punk pair sparked significant debate when they led audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June set. The slogan was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling the duo to cancel a planned North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his initial interview since the festival performance, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he responded:

"Oh yeah. Like suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the backlash the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's backing, these are the individuals that I'm advocating for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Feedback

The artist claimed he was taken aback by the outcry triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "excellent."

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later found that the BBC's broadcast of the performance violated content standards in regard to offense and offence.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the moment: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

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

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When questioned what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the local population are being slain at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'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 songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of people acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Comparison with Other Artists

As he said he felt the duo had been targeted more severely than different artists for voicing views about the situation, Theroux referenced the Irish group another band, who have also encountered criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "because as with everything race becomes a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."