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Punk duo frontman Bobby Vylan has expressed he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Reactions

The vocal music pair sparked significant controversy when they initiated audience calls of "down with the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. The chant was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was released by its agency UTA, and the US state department revoked the artists' visas, forcing the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview since the festival show, Vylan, whose 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 what if 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."

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

Regarding the Protest's Importance

"I don't want to exaggerate the importance of the slogan," he continued. "It isn't what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some rightwing media?"

Unexpected Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

This artist claimed he was surprised by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the corporation's ECU later determined that the BBC's broadcast of the performance breached content standards in relation to harm and offence.

Vylan told Theroux there was no indication of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It was normal. No one thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

The musician also responded at the Blur singer, who called the chant "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he remarked.

"I need to say that categorising it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that in some way the politics of the band or our stance on Palestine's freedom is not thought out," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Chant

After questioned what he meant by the chant "Down with the IDF," the artist said the chant itself was "unimportant."

"What is important is the situation that persist to allow that chant to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in the region. Where the local population are being killed at an disturbing rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

"Death to the IDF rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to entertain. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Denial of Antisemitism Claims

Vylan also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set led to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded later.

"I believe I have created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish people. If there were many individuals of people going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Bands

As Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than others for voicing views about the situation, the host brought up the Ireland-based group another band, who have likewise faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestinian messaging.

"That's a notable point," Vylan responded, "because as with all things race comes to play a factor in that we are an more convenient target, no pun intended, than others are because we are inherently the enemy."