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Punk duo lead singer of Bob Vylan has expressed he is "not regretful" about his "anti-IDF chant" act at the festival and asserted he would "do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

Disputed Exclamation and Official Responses

This vocal punk pair ignited widespread controversy when they initiated crowd calls of "death, death to the IDF," referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during their summer set. The slogan was condemned by festival organizers and Britain's leader Keir Starmer, who described it as "appalling hate speech."

After the incident, Bob Vylan was dropped by its representation United Talent Agency, and the US state department revoked the artists' visas, compelling the duo to call off a scheduled North American concert series.

Interview with Louis Theroux

During his initial public discussion since the festival performance, Vylan, using his real name is Pascal Foster, spoke on The Louis Theroux Podcast. After asked if he would repeat his actions, he replied:

"Absolutely. Like suppose I was to perform at the festival again tomorrow, definitely I would repeat it. I'm not regretful of it. I'd say it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays."

The artist added that the criticism the band faced was "small compared to what people in Palestine are going through."

Regarding the Protest's Significance

"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 backing, they're the people that I'm doing it for, they're the people that I'm being vocal for, then what is there to regret? Well, because I've angered some conservative politician or some conservative media?"

Surprising Response and BBC Comments

The artist claimed he was surprised by the outcry triggered by the exclamation, and asserted that staff of BBC staff 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 broadcast of the show breached content guidelines in regard to harm and hurt.

Vylan informed Theroux there was no sign of a controversy in the moment: "It wasn't like we came off stage, and everybody was like [shocked]. It felt normal. We leave stage. It was normal. Nobody suspected anything. Nobody. Even crew at the broadcaster were like 'That was fantastic! We loved that!'"

Reply 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 characterized Vylan as "goose-stepping in sport gear."

Albarn's comment was "letdown" and "lacked self-awareness," he said.

"I just want to say that labeling it as a 'huge mistake' suggests that somehow the views of the duo or our stance on Palestine's freedom is unplanned," he stated.

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

Meaning Behind the Slogan

When questioned what he intended by the chant "Down with the IDF," Vylan said the chant itself was "insignificant."

"The key issue is the conditions that persist to permit that chant to even occur on that platform. And I mean, the circumstances that are present in Palestine. Where the Palestinian people are being slain at an alarming rate. Who cares about the chant?" he said.

"The phrase rhymes," he noted: "Stop the IDF' does not rhyme, wouldn't have caught on, right? … We are there to perform. We are there to play music. I am a lyricist. 'The chant' rhymes. Ideal chant."

Rejection of Hate Speech Claims

The musician also rejected assertions from the CST, a watchdog and Jewish community safety group, that their set contributed to a spike in anti-Jewish incidents reported two days.

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

Comparison with Other Artists

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

"That's an interesting one," he said, "since as with all things race comes to play a part in that we are an easier target, no pun intended, than others are because we are already the opponent."