Bob Vylan describes US visa being revoked as “a relief”

The frontman of the controversial punk-rock duo Bob Vylan has described having his visa revoked as a “relief”.

Speaking on the Louis Theroux Podcast, Pascal Robinson-Foster, the singer in the duo, said: “We do not enjoy being in that country, we never have.” He recalled calling his bandmate to tell him that his visa had been revoked and said that after a “unified sigh of relief” his bandmate responded: “Well, at least we haven’t got to go there anymore.”

Reflecting on how he feels when in the United States, Robinson-Foster said that he finds himself “counting the days you can get home” and that “we never really have the desire to break America… We really don’t enjoy being there.” When Theroux suggested that there was much to enjoy in the country, he replied: “Is there? Tell me?” adding that “the politics of that country have just made it an extremely ugly place to be.”

The band initially came to prominence not for their musical talent but for leading a crowd at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival in the chant “Death, death, to the IDF”. The 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”, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting highlighted the irony that it took place at a festival where Israelis had been killed, raped and taken hostage.

Related: Rap group calls for ‘death to the IDF’ at Glastonbury 2025

When asked about the chant on Theroux’s podcast, Robinson-Foster was unapologetic, stating: “I’m not regretful of the chant.” When questioned whether he regretted it in light of the rise in antisemitic hate crimes that followed the incident, he challenged the criteria used to define such crimes.

The duo also attracted condemnation after celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk on stage. During a September concert at Amsterdam’s Paradiso, Robinson-Foster said: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of st of a human being. The pronouns was/were. Cause if you chat st you will get banged. Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, you piece of s**t.” The incident led to their gig in Tilburg being cancelled, with the venue stating that the group had “gone too far”.

Related: Bob Vylan celebrates Charlie Kirk’s murder on stage

Bob Vylan had been due to play in Manchester next month, but their gig was postponed until next year. It follows a letter from the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester – backed by ten MPs – urging the Manchester venue to cancel the duo’s performance. The city had recently been shaken by a synagogue attack in September that left two people dead.

Related: Two dead in Yom Kippur synagogue attack

In response to the interview, British Airways has pulled its sponsorship of the Louis Theroux Podcast, telling PA Media that the podcast’s content breached its sponsorship policy. A spokesperson for the company said: “Our sponsorship of the series has now been paused and the advert has been removed.

“We’re grateful that this was brought to our attention, as the content clearly breaches our sponsorship policy in relation to politically sensitive or controversial subject matters.

“We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues don’t occur, and we’re investigating how this happened.”

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(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)