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Punk duo frontman of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Political Responses

The outspoken music pair sparked widespread controversy when they initiated crowd chants of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their June performance. The chant was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American government cancelled the artists' visas, compelling them to call off a scheduled North American tour.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first interview since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose birth name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, conversed on a popular podcast. When questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist noted that the criticism the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what individuals in Gaza are experiencing."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"I aim not to exaggerate the importance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have the Palestinian people's support, these are the people that I'm advocating for, they're the people that I'm speaking up for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some rightwing politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Response and Broadcaster Feedback

This artist said he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that members of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU later determined that the BBC's airing of the performance violated content standards in relation to offense and offence.

He told the host there was no indication of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we came off stage, and everyone was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Including staff at the broadcaster were like 'It was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Reply to Damon Albarn

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

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'spectacular misfire' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," 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," Vylan said the slogan itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the situation that exist to permit that protest to even occur on that stage. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in the region. In which the local people are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "'End, End the IDF does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Perfect chant."

Denial of Hate Speech Allegations

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

"I don't think I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals going out and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Other Artists

When Vylan mentioned he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for speaking about the situation, the host referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have likewise encountered backlash for their approach to pro-Palestinian messaging.

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