US cancels tour visa for Bobby Vylan, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, over Glasto death chants
by Danielle de Wolfe · LBCBy Danielle de Wolfe
The US has cancelled the visas of Bob Vylan's after a Glastonbury set which saw the rappers repeatedly chant 'death to the IDF'.
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The group’s frontman, Pascal Robinson-Foster, known as Bobby Vylan, and drummer Bobbie Vylan were due to tour the US later this year, supporting rapper Grandson on the Inertia Tour, which begins in Spokane, Washington, on October 24.
However, the US State Department has revoked their visas because of "their hateful tirade” at Glastonbury, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said.
In an X Post he said: “The (State Department) has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country."
The US State Department's decision comes after the band were dropped by their talent agency. They also face losing concerts back home. Venues in Manchester and Newquay are understood to be monitoring the situation.
Read more: Glastonbury 'appalled' by Bob Vylan IDF chants claiming singer 'crossed the line'
Saturday's performance at Glastonbury also included slogans such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free” - a phrase commonly understood to call for the eradication of all jews.
It sparked a wave of criticism with BBC bosses forced to admit they should have pulled the plug on its Glastonbury livestream as soon as Bob began chanting "death to the IDF".
The BBC's decision to televise the performance has also been criticised by Ofcom, who said the broadcaster has now has "questions to answer". The regulator said it had received 150 complaints.
A BBC spokesman said: "Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC's output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive.
"The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.
"We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance."The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer. The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines.
"In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. 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."