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The lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses

This outspoken punk duo ignited significant debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. The chant was censured by festival organizers and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the event, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US government revoked the artists' visas, forcing the duo to cancel a scheduled North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

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

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

He noted that the backlash the band faced was "small compared to what individuals in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but since I have their backing, these are the individuals that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've angered some conservative official or some conservative media?"

Surprising Response and Broadcaster Comments

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

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later found that the network's airing of the show breached editorial standards in regard to offense and offence.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

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

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the views of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around the Nazis," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that wording, I think is offensive. I think his response was disgusting."

Meaning Behind the Chant

After asked what he meant by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the slogan itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the conditions that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

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

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety organisation, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish events recorded later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Bands

As Vylan said he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host brought up the Ireland-based band Kneecap, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

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