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The frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

The vocal music pair ignited significant controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer performance. This chant was censured by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its representation UTA, and the US government cancelled the members' travel documents, forcing the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

In his initial public discussion since the festival performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. After questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to perform at Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the backlash the band encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Palestine are experiencing."

On the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have their support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

The musician claimed he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the set was "excellent."

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

Vylan told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even crew at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Blur Frontman

The musician also responded at the Blur singer, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've witnessed in my life" and characterized him as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the band or our position on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he continued. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Chant

When asked what he intended by the phrase "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the conditions that exist to allow that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that exist in Palestine. Where the local people are being slain at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "'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 lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their performance contributed to a rise in antisemitic events recorded later.

"I don't think I have created an hostile environment for the Jewish people. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a bad impact here," he said.

Contrast with Other Artists

As he mentioned he thought the band had been criticised more heavily than others for voicing views about the situation, the host referenced the Irish band another band, who have also encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," Vylan said, "since as with everything race comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than they are because we are inherently the opponent."