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

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

The vocal music pair ignited significant controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June set. This slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to call off a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his first public discussion after the festival performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

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

On the Chant's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their support, these are the individuals that I'm doing it 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 Reaction and Broadcaster Comments

This artist claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the performance violated editorial standards in relation to harm and hurt.

He told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

His comment was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

"I take great issue with the term 'marching' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is disgusting. I think his response was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Chant

When asked what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian people 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 entertain. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Antisemitism Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety group, that their performance led to a rise in antisemitic events reported two days.

"I believe I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he said.

Comparison with Other Bands

When Vylan mentioned he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have likewise faced backlash for their approach to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are already the opponent."