Bob Vylan frontman claims he was PRAISED by BBC staff for Glastonbury set after bosses admitted they breached editorial guidelines by airing punk duo’s ‘death to the IDF’ chant
The BBC has admitted it breached editorial rules when Bob Vylan’s ‘deeply offensive’ Glastonbury chant of ‘Death to the IDF’ was broadcast live to millions.
And now controversial musician Bobby Vylan, one half of the punk rap duo, has claimed he was praised by members of The Company when he walked off stage after his set in July.
The band’s frontman, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, said BBC staff at the event ‘loved’ his set and described it as ‘fantastic’.
There was a nationwide reaction to the set, where Vylan led the crowd in chanting ‘death, death to the IDF’ and ‘river to sea’ and used the term ‘fuck Zionists’.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, was forced to apologize to the Commons’ culture select committee and told staff the broadcast was ‘deeply offensive’ and ‘completely unacceptable’.
But in his first major interview since the festival, Vylan said the BBC crew acted ‘normal’ when they finished the performance, going so far as to praise the band.
Controversial musician Bobby Vylan, one half of punk rap duo Bob Vylan, claims he was praised by BBC bosses after his Glastonbury set despite huge backlash
‘It wasn’t like we got off stage and everyone was like [he gasps]. This is very normal,’ he told the Louis Theroux podcast.
‘We’re getting off the stage. This is normal. Nobody thought anything. Nobody. Even the staff at the BBC said: “This was amazing! We loved it!” he said.
Vylan, whose US visa was revoked and his concerts canceled following the scandal, said he was still being praised by BBC staff hours after the show.
‘This was a few hours later because it took us a while to get back,’ he said.
‘There was no one at the BBC at the time who said ‘oh my god’. You know? But this was very normal. Then we came back and yeah, like I said, we went and got ice cream.’
The company partially acknowledged the complaints and admitted to violating editorial rules regarding harm and assault.
BBC President Samir Shah said the decision not to film live coverage of the performance was ‘unquestionably an error of judgement’.
In a letter to the select committee, Davie admitted there were 550 BBC staff at the festival and some had the power to interrupt live coverage.
There was a nationwide reaction to the set where Vylan led the crowd chanting ‘death, death to the IDF’ and ‘river to sea’ and used the phrase ‘fucking Zionists’.
Despite the resulting anger, Vylan said he would now sing the same hymn again and had no regrets about his decision.
‘Yes, I would do it again. “I don’t regret it,” he said.
‘I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sunday. I don’t regret it at all, just like the reactions I encountered later.
‘Minimal. This is a very low figure compared to what people in Palestine are experiencing.’
He said the song was actually ‘very insignificant’ and the response was ‘disproportionate’.
When asked by Theroux why he didn’t use the phrase ‘To hell with the IDF’ instead of ‘Death to the IDF’, Vylan said it was because it rhymed.
‘An end to the oppression faced by the Palestinian people. “The end of the apartheid regime that was created, the end of this,” he said.
‘End of the IDF, End of the IDF’ doesn’t rhyme, it was incomprehensible, right? You know what I mean?’
He added: ‘Because that’s what we’re there to do. We are there to entertain. We’re there to play music. I am a songwriter. “Death, Death to the IDF” rhymes. Perfect hymn.’
Following a request for comment, the BBC referred the Daily Mail to its original statement, published in July.
The company partially accepted the complaints and acknowledged violations of editorial rules regarding harm and crime
“We fully understand the strength of our feelings about Bob Vylan’s live performance at Glastonbury on the BBC,” the BBC said in its original statement.
We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behavior has occurred at the BBC and would like to apologize to our viewers, listeners and especially the Jewish community.
‘We are also clear that there can be no place for antisemitism on the BBC.
‘It is clear that mistakes were made before and during Bob Vylan’s appearance.’
