British punk-hip-hop duo Bob Vylan (pronounced like Bob Dylan if he was a villain) face backlash over anti-IDF and pro-Palestine statements made by duo member Bobby Vylan, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, while performing at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival on June 28. The performance was simultaneously livestreamed by the BBC, with a disclaimer about “very strong and discriminatory language.” In the days following their performance, the rappers have been condemned by the U.K. prime minister, Glastonbury, and the BBC and have been dropped by UTA and had their U.S. visas revoked amid a criminal investigation. Vylan’s latest response? “The more time they talk about Bob Vylan, the less time they spend answering for their criminal inaction.”
Below, find everything that’s happened so far in the aftermath of Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set.
Who is “Bob Vylan”?
Bob Vylan is an English duo consisting of “Bobby Vylan” and “Bobbie Vylan” — both are pseudonyms, used to protect them from the “surveillance state,” per The Times. Their work is expressly political. On songs like “Pulled Pork,” they condemn police brutality with lines like “Save a life and skin a pig.” On “England’s Ending,” vocalist Bobby says “Kill the fucking queen / She killed Diana, we don’t love her anyway.” Since 2017, they’ve become a staple in the U.K. punk scene. “The band has gotten itself to a point where you can’t really ignore us,” Bobby told DIY in April 2022. “When you talk about punk music in the U.K., you have to mention our name. Now, all of these cowards that were too scared to give us a chance [want to work with us] because there’s no risk involved anymore. Before, they didn’t want us. We’ll fight tooth and nail to be able to say what we need and want to say whether those channels help us or not.”
What happened at Glastonbury?
While performing at Glastonbury, Bobby led multiple chants. His first, “Free Palestine,” segued into “Death to the IDF.” “We have seen a strange reaction to people that come out and voice support for Palestine even though anybody with any kind of moral compass can surely tell that what is happening over there in Gaza is a tragedy,” Vylan said onstage beforehand, dedicating the next song to bands using their platform to advocate for Palestine. He added shortly after that “sometimes, you gotta get your message across with violence because that is the only language that some people speak, unfortunately.”
“Because sometimes you’ve got to get your message across with violence because that is the only language that some people speak, unfortunately.”
Punk duo Bob Vylan used their Glastonbury set to deliver a powerful message against the genocide in Gaza, declaring that they’re not… pic.twitter.com/9zg3RW34sM
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 29, 2025
What was the response?
Following Bob Vylan’s set, U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer, who previously criticized the Irish rap group Kneecap’s support of Palestine, condemned both the band and the BBC in a June 29 statement, per the New York Times. “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” Starmer said. “I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.” He added, “The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”
The Glastonbury Festival itself condemned Bobby Vylan’s comments in a statement on June 29, saying, “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
The BBC said it “regrets” not pulling the set from the livestream due to “antisemitic sentiments.” “The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines,” the BBC wrote in their June 30 statement. “In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.”
Are they facing professional consequences?
Bob Vylan was reportedly dropped by their representation at United Talent Agency, per a June 30 Deadline report. The band’s page is no longer available on its website. Their U.S. tour also appears to be on hold.
On July 2, Stereogum reported that the group had been taken off the bills for two festivals: The Radar Festival in Manchester and Kave Fest in France. Kave Fest released a detailed statement, saying in part “The Eure department and the city of Gisors have informed us they will oppose Bob Vylan’s presence at Kave Fest. This is forcing us to cancel Bob Vylan’s appearance at Kave Fest this year. We fully support freedom of expression for ALL artists around the world. Our thoughts are with the victims of war in Palestine and their families. We stand firmly against all acts of war and hatred. Our team is working full steam ahead to prepare the best Kave Fest yet.”
On their Instagram stories, Bob Vylan responded to the Radar Festival cancelation, saying “Silence is not an option. We will be fine ,the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester we will be back.”
How did Bob Vylan respond?
“Today, a good many people would have you believe a punk band is the number one threat to world peace,” the band posted in a statement captioned “Silence is not an option” on Instagram on July 1. “Last week it was a Palestine pressure group, the week before that it was another band,” referring to Palestine Action, a group banned by the British government after it damaged two British military planes at a protest, per Reuters, and the Northern Irish rap group Kneecap. They added that “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use ‘unnecessary lethal force’ against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.”
“We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story,” they wrote. “We are a distraction from the story. And whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction. The government doesn’t want us to ask why they remain silent in the face of this atrocity? To ask why they aren’t doing more to stop the killing? To feed the starving? The more time they talk about Bob Vylan, the less time they spend answering for their criminal inaction.”
“We are being targeted for speaking up,” they concluded. “We are not the first. We will not be the last. And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too. Free Palestine.”
“I said what I said,” Bobby Vylan previously wrote on Instagram on June 30, alongside a story about his daughter filling out a school survey asking for “healthier meals, more options and dishes inspired by other parts of the world.” He added that “it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
Are Bob Vylan facing legal consequences?
On June 30, deputy secretary of the U.S. State Department Christopher Landau tweeted that the country revoked Bob Vylan’s U.S. visas “in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.” The band’s U.S. tour was supposed to begin in October.
That same day, U.K. police launched a criminal investigation into the band, per AP News.
Is this related to Kneecap?
The BBC previously confirmed on June 28 that it would not broadcast Kneecap’s Glastonbury set over their support of Palestine, after Starmer said their appearance at the festival was “not appropriate,” per the BBC. The band’s U.S. visa was revoked over anti-Israel comments during their Coachella set, and the British police charged member Mo Chara with a terrorism offense for holding up the Hezbollah flag at a London show. “We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves,” Kneecap said in response to Chara’s charge, per the BBC. “This is political policing.”
Related