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The frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses

The vocal punk pair ignited widespread controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. The chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the event, the band was released by its representation UTA, and the US government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling them to call off a planned US and Canada tour.

Conversation with the Podcaster

During his first interview after the Glastonbury show, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

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

He noted that the criticism the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are going through."

On the Protest's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the significance of the slogan," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the individuals that I'm doing it for, these are the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

The artist claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

However, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the show violated editorial standards in relation to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It's normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply 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 described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

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

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

"I take great issue with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his answer was appalling."

Intent Behind the Chant

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

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he noted: "'End, End 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. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Antisemitism Allegations

The musician also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish events reported later.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of people acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he said.

Contrast with Other Artists

When he said he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the conflict, the host brought up the Ireland-based group Kneecap, who have likewise faced criticism for their approach to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," he said, "since as with all things race becomes a part in that we are an more convenient target, seriously, than others are because we are already the enemy."