Louis Theroux has ‘lost the plot in a very dangerous way’ according to former BBC boss after conducting a ‘soft’ interview with Bob Vylan in wake of antisemitic Glastonbury chants

Louis Theroux “lost the plot in a very dangerous way” after giving a “soft” interview with Bob Vylan following his controversial Glastonbury performance, according to the former BBC boss.

The punk band was condemned by the prime minister for calling for the “death” of Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in June, which he called “terrible hate speech”.

There was a nationwide reaction to the set, in which lead vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster led the crowd in chanting “death, death to the IDF” and “river to sea” and used the term “fuck Zionists”.

But Theroux released a podcast interview with Robinson-Foster this week; where the singer unrepentantly told the interviewer that he had ‘no regrets’ and that he would ‘do it again tomorrow’.

Now Danny Cohen, controller of BBC One from 2010 to 2013, has turned to the documentary maker to platform the controversial star on his podcast.

Cohen, 51, who is now Chairman of Access Entertainment, told the Daily Mail: ‘Louis Theroux chose to interview a man who made extremely anti-Semitic comments on stage at Glastonbury, which was rightly dismissed by the BBC itself as a serious incident of racism.’

The punk band was condemned by the prime minister for calling for the “death” of Israeli soldiers at a June concert in what he called “terrible hate speech”.

There was a nationwide backlash to the set, as lead vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster had the crowd chant “death, death to the IDF” and “river to sea” and used the term “fuck Zionists”.

‘Once an in-depth interviewer, Theroux only offers softball questions and even appears to accept offensive arguments, such as claiming that outrage over chants of “death to the IDF” were “deliberately weaponized as a distraction tactic.”‘

Clearly, Theroux chooses not to ask Vylan about his onstage statement that he works for the “fucking Zionists,” that is, the Jews.

‘Presumably Theroux avoids this because this overt racism doesn’t fit with his sympathetic approach to Vylan’s toxic views.

‘Theroux, who once did a great job of interviewing people with extremist and offensive views, seems to have become one himself.

‘By offering such a soft platform to a man now known for his Jew-hating stage rants, Theroux has lost the script in a very dangerous way.’

Cohen is not the only prominent media figure to criticize Theroux in the interview, in which the television star claimed Israel ‘prototyped an aggressive, militarized form of ethno-nationalism’.

Theroux added: ‘This precise sense of post-Holocaust Jewish exceptionalism or Zionist exceptionalism has become a role model on the national stage for what these white identitarians want to do in their own country.’

Leo Pearlman, CEO of Fulwell Entertainment, told the Daily Mail: ‘When you hand a microphone to someone who proudly repeats the holocaust slogan that played a role in inspiring attacks on Jews across Britain, you’re not investigating hatred, you’re reinforcing it.

‘And don’t be fooled, this is not journalism exploring the limits of free speech; Without meaningful challenge, it is complicity disguised as curiosity.’

‘A hymn parroted by anti-Semitic mobs around the world should not be given another stage, let alone sympathetic broadcast time. We have seen synagogue doors smeared with feces, Jews mowed down and stabbed to death in our streets, and mobs chanting the same words that ring out on the Glastonbury stage.

‘Pascal’s claim that he bears no responsibility is moral cowardice, and Theroux’s approval of this is moral failure. This is what happens when anti-Semitism becomes fashionable again, when the media treats incitement as a quirky opinion rather than a hate crime.

‘Even though Jew-hatred gives him goosebumps, he doesn’t always wear a swastika, sometimes he wears a microphone and grins and gets invited on a podcast. The fact that Pascal could celebrate the damage he had caused and be rewarded with greater exposure shows how far the goalposts have shifted for Jews in this country.’

There is nothing progressive about demanding the freedom of Palestinians while defending the right to call for the killing of Jews.’

Former BBC One boss Danny Cohen and Fulwell Entertainment CEO Leo Pearlman criticize Louis Theroux for Bob Vylan interview

Theroux released a podcast interview with Robinson-Foster this week; where the singer unrepentantly told the interviewer that he had “no regrets” and that he would “do it again tomorrow.”

The company partially accepted the complaints and acknowledged violations of editorial rules regarding harm and crime

The BBC has admitted it breached editorial rules when Bob Vylan’s “deeply offensive” Glastonbury hymn was broadcast live to millions.

However, in a Louis Theroux interview, Robinson-Foster claimed that she was praised by Company members when she walked off stage following her set in June.

He said BBC staff who were at the event told him they ‘loved’ his set and described it as ‘fantastic’.

In his first major interview since the festival, Vylan said BBC staff acted ‘normally’ when he finished the performance, going so far as to praise the band.

‘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.

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.

Following a request for comment, the BBC referred the Mail to its original statement, published in July.

“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.’