Bob Vylan caused a stir at Glastonbury with chants of “Death to the IDF”. In the first interview since then, their lead singer firmly defends his statements about Israel and Palestine.
Bob Vylan has no regrets about her statements about the Israeli army at Glastonbury Festival. In a new interview, frontman Bobby Vylan said he would repeat his chant “Death, death to the IDF” at any time – “twice tomorrow and Sunday.”
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The punk duo sparked controversy with their calls at the British festival in June. The festival organizer condemned the statements, as did British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who described them as “terrible hate speech”. As a result, Bob Vylan was dropped by his agency UTA, as The Guardian reported. The USA also revoked the band’s visas, preventing them from touring North America.
According to Bobby Vylan: Headwinds “minimal compared” to the suffering in Palestine
On Louis Theroux’s podcast, Bobby Vylan – real name Pascal Robinson-Foster – was asked if he would repeat the shouts. The singer replied: “Oh yes. What if I went to Glastonbury again tomorrow? Yes, I would do it again. I don’t regret it. I would do it again tomorrow, twice on Sunday in fact.”
Vylan argued that the backlash the band had experienced was “minimal compared to what the people of Palestine were going through.” He added: “I don’t want to overstate the importance of the chant. That’s not my intention, but if I have the support of the people that I’m doing it for, that I’m advocating for, then what’s there to regret? Oh, because I upset some right-wing politicians or some right-wing media?”
As The Guardian noted, Vylan’s conversation with Theroux was recorded on October 1, 2025. At the start of the episode, the presenter explained that it took place before the Manchester synagogue attacks on October 2nd, which left two people dead and three others injured, and before the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on October 10th.
Alarming situation in Palestine
When asked what exactly he meant by the slogan “Death to the IDF,” Vylan replied that the slogan itself was “unimportant.” And: “What is important are the circumstances that make it possible for this slogan to be chanted on this stage in the first place. And by that I mean the circumstances in Palestine, where Palestinian people are being killed in alarming numbers. Who cares about the slogan?”
The main thing is that it rhymes?
First and foremost, the sentence rhymes, says Vylan: “We’re there to make music. I’m a lyricist. ‘Death, death to the IDF’ rhymes. The perfect slogan.”
As The Guardian reported, Vylan also denied claims by the Community Security Trust (CST) – an organization that protects Jewish communities – that her appearance contributed to a rise in anti-Semitic incidents. “I don’t think I’ve created an unsafe atmosphere for the Jewish community. If a large number of people were to walk out and say, ‘Bob Vylan made me do this,’ I might think, Oh dear, I’ve had a negative influence here,” he continued.
Recently, Bob Vylan caused another scandal with statements about the murdered Charlie Kirk. During their performance at Amsterdam’s Paradiso on September 13th, according to the Independent, Bobby Vylan told fans: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of shit of a human being. The pronouns was/were. Because if you chat shit you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit.” As a result, several European concert dates were canceled by the organizers.