Bob Vylan celebrates Charlie Kirk’s murder on stage

The controversial rap duo Bob Vylan have celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk during a concert at Amsterdam’s Paradiso.

Pascal Robinson‑Foster, one half of the rap duo who attempt to keep their legal names out of the press over concerns about what they call the “surveillance state”, dedicated a song to the murdered activist just days after his death.

In a thinly veiled threat to those who disagree with his ideology, Robinson‑Foster said: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of s**t of a human being. The pronouns was/were. Cause if you chat s**t you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of s**t.”

Bob Vylan initially came to fame not for their musical talent but for leading a crowd at the UK’s Glastonbury in the chant “Death, death, to the IDF”. The indiscriminate call for the death of Jewish soldiers was met with widespread criticism. The UK’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described it as an example of "vile Jew-hatred", and Wes Streeting, the UK Health Secretary, pointed to the sick irony that it was also at a music festival where Israelis were killed, raped and taken hostage.

The indictment for hatred against the Jewish race appeared to have very real and almost immediate consequences, with the following day seeing the highest daily number of antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK during the first half of the year.

Club Paradiso responded to the celebration of Kirk’s death by ignoring the substance of what was said and instead chose to focus on the Israel–Hamas conflict.

In a statement posted on the club’s website, the venue stated: “On Saturday, September 13, during his performance at Paradiso, artist Bob Vylan made statements that many experienced as harsh and offensive.

“Paradiso believes in the power of artistic freedom. Music, and punk in particular, has traditionally been a form of art that amplifies anger, discontent, and injustice without filter. In a world on fire, artists sometimes choose language that sounds confrontational or violent. That is part of artistic expression, but not automatically language that we as a venue endorse.

“Paradiso shares the outrage and concern regarding the genocidal violence taking place in Gaza. That Bob Vylan raises his voice against it is legitimate and necessary. Should the Openbaar Ministerie (public prosecution service) wish to investigate whether any criminal offences have been committed, Paradiso will cooperate.”

The duo had planned to perform a gig in Tilburg on Tuesday; however, the venue was less sympathetic and cancelled the show, stating that the group had “gone too far”.

In response to the cancellation, Bob Vylan posted a video on their social media titled: “Calm down”. In the video, the unrepentant Robinson‑Foster admits that he did call Charlie Kirk a “piece of s**t”, but claims that he did not celebrate his death.

After the cancellation, Bob Vylan are next due to perform at Archa Theatre / Divadlo Archa, Prague, Czech Republic. It is not clear whether the venue will go ahead with the event.

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