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The frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" performance at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Reactions

The vocal music pair sparked widespread controversy when they led crowd calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June set. This slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, the band was dropped by its agency United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling them to call off a scheduled North American concert series.

Conversation with the Podcaster

In his first public discussion since the festival performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

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

The artist noted that the backlash the duo faced was "minimal compared to what people in Gaza are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Significance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, they're the people that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some rightwing politician or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Response and BBC Comments

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

Yet, the corporation's executive complaints unit subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the performance violated editorial guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

He told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "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 suspected anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also hit back at Damon Albarn, who called the chant "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

His reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' implies that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

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

"What is important is the situation that persist to permit that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the conditions that exist in the region. Where the local people are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he stated.

"The phrase 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 play music. I am a songwriter. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied assertions from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set contributed to a spike in antisemitic events reported later.

"I believe I have caused an hostile environment for the Jewish community. If there were many individuals of people acting and saying 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Comparison with Other Bands

As he said he thought the band had been criticised more severely than different artists for speaking about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Irish group another band, who have also encountered backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

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