Airline pauses Louis Theroux sponsorship over interview
British Airways has paused its sponsorship of host Louis Theroux’s podcast following his interview with the frontman of punk rap duo Bob Vylan.
Bob Vylan made headlines in June after chanting “Death, death to the Israeli Defense Forces” during his BBC live-streamed performance at England’s Glastonbury Festival.
Frontman Bobby Vylan, also known as Pascal Robinson-Foster, appeared on last week’s episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast and said he had “no regrets” about the chant and would “do it again tomorrow.”
British Airways has since stopped advertising on the podcast, saying the content “violated” its sponsorship policy, according to initial reporting by Jewish News.
“Our sponsorship of the series has now ceased and the advert has been removed,” a BA spokesman told the PA news agency. he said.
“We are grateful that this was brought to our attention, as the content clearly violates our sponsorship policy regarding politically sensitive or controversial topics.
“We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues do not occur and are investigating how this happened.”
Following Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, Avon and Somerset police launched an investigation into the band.
They subsequently skipped a number of festivals and performances, including the Radar festival, a show at a German music venue, and a US tour after their visas were cancelled.
They were recently forced to postpone two concerts in the UK due to “political pressure” after calls for cancellation from Jewish leaders and MPs.
Despite the criticism, the band received support from fans new and old. Their album Humble As The Sun re-entered the charts, reaching number one in the UK Hip Hop and R&B album charts, and they subsequently announced their We Won’t Go Quietly 2025 UK tour.
When Theroux asked if Vylan supported the anthem and if he would do it again, the frontman said: “Oh yes. What if I went to Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again.”
“I don’t regret it. I would do it again tomorrow, twice on Sunday.
“I don’t regret it at all, as the reactions I encountered later were minimal.
“This is a very low number compared to what people in Palestine are going through.
“If that can be my contribution and I can have my Palestinian friends and the people that I met from Palestine who had to flee, who lost double-digit members of their families, and they can say, ‘hey, I love your hymn.’ Or it gave me a breath of fresh air or something.”
Louis Theroux has been contacted for comment.
