Bob Vylan have been dropped by their agent and are actually beneath legal investigation following their Glastonbury 2025 efficiency.
The rap-punk duo have confronted various setbacks following their incendiary efficiency at Worthy Farm on Saturday on the West Holts stage forward of Kneecap’s set. Throughout their set, Bob Vylan used their platform to voice their assist for Palestine, name out the BBC, Israel, the US and UK governments and extra.
All through the efficiency, political slogans had been projected onto the display behind them, together with “Free Palestine – United Nations have referred to as it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘battle’”. After the gang instigated a chant of “free, free Palestine”, frontman Bobby mentioned, “Have you ever heard this one?”, earlier than main a chant of “demise, demise to the IDF”.
Two days after the controversial efficiency, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau took to social media to share that the State Division has “revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in mild of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, together with main the gang in demise chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred usually are not welcome guests to our nation.” The band had introduced a US tour set for October simply two weeks earlier than their Glastonbury efficiency.
The @StateDept has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in mild of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, together with main the gang in demise chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred usually are not welcome guests to our nation.
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) June 30, 2025
In addition to having their US visas revoked, Bob Vylan have additionally reportedly been dropped by their agent United Expertise Company (UTA) following the controversy, per The Commonplace. Whereas the UTA has not acknowledged the alleged severing of ties, Bob Vylan’s pages on their artists websites have been eliminated.
Shortly after Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury, the Avon and Somerset Police introduced that they had been assessing footage of the duo’s efficiency, in addition to Kneecap’s efficiency – on Monday, they confirmed that “a legal investigation is now being undertaken”.
The Avon and Somerset Police mentioned in an announcement: “This has been recorded as a public order incident right now whereas our enquiries are at an early stage. The investigation will probably be evidence-led and can intently think about all acceptable laws, together with referring to hate crimes.”
“There may be completely no place in society for hate. Neighbourhood policing groups are talking with individuals of their native communities and key stakeholders to verify anybody who wants us is aware of that we’re right here for them.”
Please see the assertion beneath with an replace on our investigation into feedback made on stage at Glastonbury Competition on Saturday.
An accessible model of the assertion could be discovered on our web site: https://t.co/aSjbcIYSky pic.twitter.com/w1BM5Bg5b2
— Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) June 30, 2025
NME has reached out to Bob Vylan’s administration for remark.
Elsewhere throughout their Glastonbury efficiency, frontman Bobby mentioned: “We’re not pacifist punks right here over at Bob Vylan Enterprises,” referencing lyrics from their 2023 single ‘Censored (Interlude)’. “We’re the violent punks, as a result of typically you gotta get your message throughout with violence as a result of that’s the solely language some individuals converse, sadly.” See a full recap right here.
Following the duo’s efficiency at Glastonbury 2025, the pageant issued an announcement saying it was “appalled” by their “demise to the IDF” chants, including: “Their chants very a lot crossed a line and we’re urgently reminding everybody concerned within the manufacturing of the Competition that there isn’t any place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.” Cupboard minister Wes Streeting has additionally criticised the efficiency, whereas additionally telling the Israeli embassy to “get its personal home so as”.
On Sunday, Bobby Vylan addressed the incident, confirming he stands by what he mentioned. Bobby continued: “Instructing our kids to talk up for the change they need and wish is the one manner that we make this world a greater place. As we get older and our hearth presumably begins to dim beneath the suffocation of grownup life and all its tasks, it’s extremely essential that we encourage and encourage future generations to select up the torch that was handed to us.”
This isn’t the primary time that Bob Vylan have spoken out towards “controversial” matters, together with racism and police brutality within the UK. Talking to NME again in 2020, the duo shared that they’ve been calling for justice on a myriad of matters for a very long time: “Why did it take this lengthy? We’ve not been quiet about this, we have now been screaming about this. Us, as black punks, fairly actually. I’ve been screaming about this on the prime of my lungs.”
The BBC have mentioned they need to have pulled dwell protection of the group’s Glastonbury 2025 set, whereas Ofcom say they’re treating it “as a matter of urgency”.
Israel has been finishing up a full-scale navy marketing campaign on occupied Gaza for nearly two years, since the October 2023 assault by Hamas on the Israeli music pageant Supernova the place 1,195 individuals had been killed.
The UN has discovered Israel’s navy actions to be in keeping with genocide, and at the least 56,000 Palestinians have been killed within the battle, in response to the Gaza Well being Ministry. Israel has frequently denied that what’s occurring in Palestine is taken into account a genocide, and has argued that it has not partaken in any struggle crimes.
