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Punk duo frontman of Bob Vylan has stated he is "without regret" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at Glastonbury and declared he would "repeat it tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Controversial Exclamation and Official Responses

This vocal music duo sparked significant debate when they initiated crowd calls of "down with the IDF," pointing to the IDF, during their summer set. This slogan was censured by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "shocking hate speech."

Following the incident, the band was released by its agency United Talent Agency, and the American state department cancelled the artists' travel documents, compelling them to cancel a planned US and Canada tour.

Interview with Louis Theroux

In his first interview since the Glastonbury show, the musician, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. When questioned if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

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

He added that the backlash the band encountered was "minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Chant's Importance

"I aim not to exaggerate the significance of the chant," he continued. "That's not what I'm attempting to do, but if I have the Palestinian people's support, they're the people that I'm doing it for, they're the individuals that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Oh, because I've upset some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Unexpected Reaction and BBC Comments

This musician said he was surprised by the outcry sparked by the chant, and stated that staff of the broadcaster employees at the event told him on the same day that the set was "fantastic."

Yet, the broadcaster's ECU subsequently determined that the BBC's airing of the show breached editorial guidelines in relation to harm and hurt.

He told the host there was no sign of a controversy in the immediate aftermath: "It didn't feel like we left stage, and everyone was like [gasps]. It's just normal. We come off stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even staff at the BBC were like 'That was fantastic! We enjoyed that!'"

Response to Damon Albarn

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

Albarn's reaction was "disappointing" and "lacked self-awareness," Vylan 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 Palestinian liberation is unplanned," he stated.

"I strongly object with the term 'marching' being used because it's only used around Nazi Germany," he continued. "Precisely. And for him to use that language, I think is disgusting. I think his answer was disgusting."

Intent Behind the Slogan

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

"What is important is the conditions that persist to permit that protest to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the conditions that are present in the region. Where the local population are being slain at an alarming rate. What matters about the slogan?" he said.

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

Rejection of Hate Speech Allegations

The musician also denied assertions from the Community Security Trust, a monitoring and Jewish safety organisation, that their set contributed to a rise in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.

"I don't think I have created an unsafe environment for the Jewish community. If there were large numbers of individuals acting and going like 'Bob Vylan made me do this'. I might go, oh, I've had a negative effect here," he commented.

Contrast with Different Bands

As Vylan said he thought the band had been targeted more heavily than different artists for voicing views about the conflict, Theroux brought up the Irish band Kneecap, who have also faced backlash for their method to pro-Palestine advocacy.

"That's an interesting one," he said, "because as with all things race becomes a factor in that we are an more convenient villain, seriously, than others are because we are inherently the opponent."