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The frontman Bobby Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "death, death to the IDF" performance at the festival and asserted he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Political Responses

The outspoken music pair sparked widespread debate when they led crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their June performance. This chant was condemned by Glastonbury and Britain's leader the prime minister, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its agency UTA, and the US government revoked the members' travel documents, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled US and Canada concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his initial interview after the festival performance, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After questioned if he would do it all again, he responded:

"Absolutely. For instance what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He noted that the criticism the duo encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

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

Surprising Reaction and Broadcaster Feedback

This musician said he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of the broadcaster staff at the event told him on the day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's executive complaints unit later determined that the BBC's airing of the performance breached editorial guidelines in relation to offense and hurt.

Vylan informed 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 come off stage. It was normal. Nobody thought anything. Not a soul. Even staff at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also hit back at the Blur singer, who labeled the chant "a major misstep I've witnessed in my life" and described Vylan as "goose-stepping in tennis gear."

Albarn's reaction 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 band or our stance on Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he explained.

"I strongly object with the term 'goose-stepping' being used because it's typically associated around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his response was appalling."

Meaning Behind the Chant

After questioned what he intended by the phrase "Down with the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "insignificant."

"What is important is the conditions that persist to permit that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that exist in Palestine. In which the Palestinian population are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the chant?" he stated.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, would it? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a songwriter. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Ideal slogan."

Denial of Hate Speech Claims

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

"I don't think I have created an hostile atmosphere for the Jewish community. Suppose there were large numbers of individuals acting and saying 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I could go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he said.

Comparison with Different Artists

When Vylan mentioned he felt the band had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the situation, Theroux referenced the Ireland-based band another band, who have likewise faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestinian advocacy.

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