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

Disputed Chant and Official Responses

The outspoken music duo ignited widespread controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This chant was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was released by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US government cancelled the members' travel documents, compelling the duo to call off a planned US and Canada concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the chant," he continued. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, they're the people that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've angered some conservative official or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Feedback

The artist said he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit later found that the network's broadcast of the performance violated content guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.

He informed Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

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

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

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

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

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

"I don't think I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of individuals acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I could go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

When he mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than others for speaking about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Irish group Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the enemy."