The British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan is under fire in more ways than one after setting its Glastonbury show on fire and receiving rapid international ramifications, including a U.S. travel ban and a UK criminal investigation.
During the middle of the set, front man Bobby Vylan riled the concourse into a spiteful chorus of “Death, death to the IDF” and “Free, free Palestine” followed by, “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free.” Although some in the crowd cheered, the backlash was swift and cacophonous.
Check Out This Article: Taraji P. Henson Steps Into the Spotlight With "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"
The United States State Department didn’t mince words in its response. One day later, the department canceled the group’s visas, calling the chant a “hateful rant.” In a hard-line statement, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau declared: “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred” are not welcome visitors to our country.
Glastonbury organisers themselves also tried to distance the festival from the performance. “Their chants overwhelmingly stepped over the line,” the festival said in a statement. “There is no room for antisemitism, hate speech, or incitement to violence at Glastonbury.” And Bob Vylan’s set was taken down soon after it was uploaded to the BBC’s iPlayer.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office also responded, condemning the performance, and Avon and Somerset Police said they are now reviewing the video to investigate possible public order offences.
And the professional retribution has been instantaneous: United Talent Agency dropped the duo from its U.S. roster.
But Bobby Vylan took to Instagram with an unapologetic response, defending the performance as a necessary form of protest. “The only way we can continue to make this world a better place is if our children don’t remain silent if they want change,” he wrote. “Today, it’s about school dinners; tomorrow, it might be about foreign policy.
The kerfuffle has inspired heated discussion about where the boundary between protest and provocation ought to be drawn, particularly in the high-stakes context of a globally televised festival. For some, the chants from the group are as clear-cut a case of hate speech as is possible. For some, it is passionate advocacy in support of the Palestinian cause.
Meanwhile, Glastonbury could be preparing for more fallout. A second investigation is examining the Irish hip-hop band Kneecap, which also made similar comments over the same weekend.
Bob Vylan, the message might have been loud, but the fallout has been more audible. As stages and borders shut down around the duo, the incident poses an age-old question with new urgency: when does protest go too far, and who gets to decide when it does?
0 Comments