Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance dubbed ‘antisemitic’ by the BBC

The London-based punk rap duo known as Bob Vylan took the stage at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, a performance for which the musical group quickly came under fire.

During their set, the band raised chants of “death, death to the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces)”, as the whole event went live on the BBC.

Additionally, while the festival’s crowd joined the group in their efforts, as many Palestinian flags were spotted among the audience, the performance was quickly called out by authority figures like the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer called out the rap group for their usage of “very strong and discriminatory language”, and now the broadcaster behind the performance has broken their silence.

The BBC have issued their response to Bob Vylan’s actions, as they admitted that they “should have pulled” the performance.

“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,” the British broadcaster explained in their statement, released today.

While the company further stated their firm stance against “incitement o violence”, adding that they consider “the antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan” to be “utterly unacceptable” and that they do not carry their organisation’s endorsement.

“In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air,” the BBC’s message concluded.

Meanwhile, the band’s lead vocalist took to social media to justify their move, as their Instagram caption revealed, “I said what I said.”

Bob Vylan were also called out by Glastonbury’s organisers, who termed the duo’s performance as “appalling”, while the Irish group Kneecap’s gig later in the day was not aired live by the BBC due to similar political reasons.