Bob Vylan respond to Glastonbury Festival controversy: “We are being targeted for speaking up”
Bob Vylan have responded to the barrage of controversy they have faced since their Glastonbury Festival performance on June 28th.
During their performance on the West Holts stage, the band led a number of pro-Palestinian chants, with one of the most noteworthy being “Death to the IDF”. This has sparked outrage amongst members of the public and government officials.
Glastonbury released a statement shortly after the chant. They said that while they recognise that amongst the 4,000 people performing at the festival, there will inevitably be differences of political opinion, they believe Bob Vylan crossed a line during their performance.
“We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday,” Glastonbury organisers wrote in a statement on social media. “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.”
Bob Vylan initially responded to the controversy with a post on social media entitled “I said what I said.” Here, the band confirmed that they believe it’s important for people to continue voicing their opinions and setting a positive example for the next generation.
Since their response, Bob Vylan have been dropped by talent agents UTA, had their American Visas revoked, and a criminal investigation launched against them. The Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that, upon looking at the footage of their performance, they believe further enquiries are necessary.
“Video footage and audio from Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday has been reviewed,” they said, “Following the completion of that assessment process we have decided further enquires are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken.”
Bob Vylan issue new statement
Bob Vylan have now released a further update in light of all these recent developments entitled “Not the first. Not the last.” In it, they double down on what they said and confirm that the controversy surrounding their comments is merely to distract from the more serious issue.
“Today, a good many people would have you believe a punk band is the number one threat to world peace,” they wrote, “Last week it was a Palestine pressure group, the week before that it was another band.”
Bob Vylan continued: “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.”
The band said they believe they are a distraction and that the government is focusing so much on their comments because they don’t want to focus on the main topic at hand. They said: “We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. 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?” they said, “The more time they talk about Bob Vylan, the less time they spend answering for their criminal inaction.”
The band concluded, “We are being targeted for speaking up. 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”
This is a developing story.
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