Bob Vylan spark media outrage over Glastonbury comments

By George Roberts

Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury Festival are now under criminal investigation, police have said. Avon and Somerset Police said the two performances have been recorded as a public order incident.

Chants of “FREE FREE PALESTINE!” echoed from the West Holts stage to a crowd of over 200,000 people on Saturday June 28.

The rallying cry for the liberation of the Palestinian people was followed up by the Bob Vylan frontman, Pascal Robinson-Foster, with shouts of “DEATH, DEATH TO THE IDF”.

The BBC drew wide criticism after it failed to halt the coverage of the punk rap duo’s performance. The corporation has apologised to the Jewish community saying it “deeply regrets” the decision, and stated “We are also unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC.” [1]

Lorna Clarke, the BBC’s director of music, has taken a step back from her role as of Thursday July 3 following the live broadcast of the performance, despite the act having been designated as ‘high risk’. [2] In a statement, the UK Screen Industry said: “We reject the BBC’s statement that Bob Vylan’s words were ‘anti-Semitic’ and an ‘incitement to violence’. Saying ‘Death to the IDF’ is not a literal threat; it is a call for the dismantling of a brutal military apparatus that is committing war crimes and killing civilians.” [3]

The band projected a message reading “Free Palestine – United Nations have called it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘conflict’” onto the screen behind them during their 2:30pm appearance at the festival. This message came in response to the BBC’s decision not to air a documentary titled “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” due to concerns over breaching the corporation’s impartiality rules. The documentary was broadcast by Channel 4 on Wednesday July 2.

Bob Vylan have often been outspoken on several issues in the past. The lyrics to their song “He’s A Man” draw attention to the bigoted and misogynistic behaviour of toxic, hyper-masculine British men.  These stereotypes are becoming increasingly associated with “Brexit Culture” individuals who dislike foreign migrants and “woke” society. Vylan’s lyrics: “Who they killing, when they making a killing?” from their song Terms and Conditions reference the UK Government’s sale of arms to Israel despite the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Concerns were raised by a number of MPs in the House of Commons during the 2023-25 Israel-Hamas conflict regarding UK arms exports to Israel, citing a risk that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law. Following several reviews of the UK’s arms export criteria between October 2023 and May 2024, the Conservative government concluded that no licences needed to be revoked or suspended. Upon their election in 2024 the Labour government undertook a new review of arms export licences. On September 2 2024, Foreign Secretary David Lammy declared the suspension of around 30 of these licences, out of about 350. Lammy claimed that “for certain exports” it was evident that there was a “clear risk” they “might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. [4]

Bob Vylan have been removed from the line-ups of multiple European festivals, including a headline slot at Radar festival on Saturday July 5. The punk rappers have also been dropped by their talent agency, United Talent Agency (UTA).

On Monday July 1 the band released the following statement to Instagram. [5]

As reported by The Wrap, on Thursday July 3 more than 400 media figures, including 111 BBC journalists, have given their signature anonymously to an open letter claiming the corporation is censoring Gaza reporting [6]. Former head of the BBC’S Westminster political team, Robbie Gibb, the man who led a consortium that bought the Jewish Chronicle in 2020 and the former director of Jewish Chronicle Media, sits on the board of the BBC.

This letter calls for Gibb’s removal from the board over conflicts of interest in reporting on Gaza and Israel. An anonymous statement from BBC insiders reads: “For many of us, our efforts have been frustrated by opaque decisions made at senior levels of the BBC without discussion or explanation. Our failures impact our audiences.” [6]

On Thursday July 3 Amnesty International reported on a controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed system designed to distribute aid in Gaza that uses starvation tactics to commit genocide in the region; the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [7]. The United States and Israel have supported efforts to shift aid distribution in Gaza from the control of the United Nations to the jurisdiction of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Gaza’s Health Ministry claims hundreds killed – and thousands injured – at or near these distribution centres in the past four weeks [7]. Private security contractors guard these aid centres located close to Israeli military positions. Israeli forces have been accused of opening fire at crowds of unarmed civilians at these sites.

References

[1] BBC, (2025). “BBC statement on Bob Vylan’s live appearance at Glastonbury on the BBC”. BBC, 2 Jul 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/bob-vylan-glastonbury-live-appearance/

[2] Cooper-Fiske, C., (2025). “BBC music head steps back from duties after Bob Vylan broadcast – report”. The Independent, 4 Jul 2025. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bbc-bob-vylan-idf-lorna-clarke-b2782625.html

[3] Savage, M., Grierson, J., (2025). “Police investigate Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s Glastonbury performances”. The Guardian, 30 Jun 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/30/bbc-should-have-pulled-live-stream-bob-vylan-glastonbury-anti-idf-chants

[4] UK Government, (2024). “UK suspends around 30 arms export licences to Israel for use in Gaza over International Humanitarian Law concerns”. GovUK, 2 Sept 2024. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-suspends-around-30-arms-export-licences-to-israel-for-use-in-gaza-over-international-humanitarian-law-concerns

[5] Bob Vylan, (2025). “Silence is not an option”. Instagram, 1 Jul 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DLkA_yQoDNs/?hl=en

[6] Harris, R., (2025). “111 BBC Journalists Blast Broadcaster for ‘Censorship’ of Gaza Coverage, Call for Robbie Gibb’s Board Removal”. The Wrap, 3 Jul 2025. https://www.thewrap.com/bbc-open-letter-pro-israel-censorship/

[7] Amnesty, (2025). “Gaza: Evidence points to Israel’s continued use of starvation to inflict genocide against Palestinians”. Amnesty International, 3 Jul 2025. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/07/gaza-evidence-points-to-israels-continued-use-of-starvation-to-inflict-genocide-against-palestinians/