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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "death, death to the IDF" act at the festival and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Chant and Political Reactions

The vocal punk duo sparked significant debate when they initiated audience chants of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the IDF, during their summer set. The slogan was condemned by Glastonbury and UK Prime Minister the prime minister, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled North American concert series.

Interview with the Podcaster

During his first interview since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, conversed on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would do it all again, he replied:

"Absolutely. For instance suppose I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would repeat it. I'm without regret of it. I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

He added that the backlash the duo encountered was "small 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 elaborated. "That's not what I'm trying to do, but since I have their support, they're the people that I'm advocating for, these are the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've upset some conservative official or some conservative news outlet?"

Surprising Reaction and BBC Feedback

The artist said he was taken aback by the uproar triggered by the chant, and stated that staff of BBC employees at Glastonbury told him on the same day that the performance was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently found that the BBC's airing of the performance violated editorial standards in relation to offense and offence.

He told Theroux there was no indication of a dispute in the immediate aftermath: "It wasn't like we left stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We leave stage. It's normal. Nobody suspected anything. Not a soul. Including crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

Vylan also responded at the Blur singer, who called the protest "one of the most spectacular misfires I've seen in my life" and characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "showed no self-awareness," he remarked.

"I just want to say that categorising it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that in some way the views of the band or our position on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the phrase 'goose-stepping' being used because it's only used around the Nazis," he added. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is offensive. I think his response was appalling."

Intent Behind the Slogan

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Death to the IDF," Vylan clarified the chant itself was "unimportant."

"The key issue is the situation that exist to allow that protest to even take place on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. In which the local people are being killed at an disturbing rate. Who cares about the slogan?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he added: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have spread, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to sing songs. I am a lyricist. 'Death, Death to IDF' rhymes. Perfect slogan."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected claims from the Community Security Trust, a watchdog and Jewish safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents recorded two days.

"I believe I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish people. If there were large numbers of individuals going out and going like 'We made me do this'. I might go, oof, I've had a bad effect here," he said.

Contrast with Other Bands

When Vylan mentioned he thought the duo had been targeted more heavily than others for speaking about the conflict, Theroux referenced the Irish group another band, who have also faced criticism for their method to pro-Palestine messaging.

"That's a notable point," he responded, "since as with all things ethnicity comes to play a factor in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than they are because we are already the enemy."