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The frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at Glastonbury and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses

The vocal music duo ignited widespread controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their June performance. This slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who labeled it as "appalling hate speech."

After the event, Bob Vylan was dropped 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

In his initial public discussion since the Glastonbury show, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would do it again. I'm without regret of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the backlash the band faced was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

On the Protest's Importance

"I aim not to overstate the importance of the slogan," he elaborated. "It isn't what I'm trying to do, but if I have their support, these are the people that I'm doing it for, these are the individuals that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to feel sorry about? Oh, because I've angered some rightwing official or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

This musician claimed he was surprised by the uproar sparked by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "excellent."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the network's broadcast of the performance violated content guidelines in regard to offense and offence.

He told Theroux there was no sign of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We come off stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at Damon Albarn, who labeled the protest "a major misstep I've seen in my life" and described him as "marching in tennis gear."

Albarn's comment was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," Vylan remarked.

"I need to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the politics of the duo or our stance 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 added. "That's it. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

When asked what he intended by the phrase "Death to the IDF," the artist clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to allow that chant to even take place on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. Where the local people are being slain 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 sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

Vylan also rejected claims from the CST, a monitoring and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a rise in antisemitic events recorded two days.

"I believe I have caused an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were many individuals of people going out and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative impact here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Artists

When Vylan said he thought the duo had been targeted more severely than others for voicing views about the conflict, the host referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have likewise encountered criticism for their approach to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he responded, "since as with everything race becomes a factor in that we are an easier villain, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."