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Punk duo lead singer Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Chant and Political Responses

The vocal music pair sparked widespread controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. This slogan was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was released by its agency UTA, and the US government cancelled the members' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Conversation with Louis Theroux

During his first interview after the Glastonbury performance, the musician, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Oh yeah. For instance what if I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the backlash the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

The musician said he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the network's broadcast of the show breached editorial guidelines in relation to offense and offence.

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

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "marching in tennis gear."

His reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestinian liberation is not thought out," he stated.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," 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 Slogan

When asked what he meant by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist clarified the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. In which the Palestinian people are being killed at an alarming rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

Vylan also denied assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their set led to a spike in antisemitic incidents recorded two days.

"I believe I have caused an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of individuals acting and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When Vylan said he felt the duo had been criticised more severely than others for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with everything ethnicity comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, seriously, than they are because we are already the enemy."