John Lydon has branded Bob Vylan‘s “death to the IDF” chant at Glastonbury 2025 “rather sad and pointless”.
The set was broadcast live on the BBC over the summer and saw frontman Bobby Vylan lead the audience in chants of “death, death to the IDF” and “free, free Palestine”.
Following their Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan had multiple international shows cancelled, and their US visas were revoked ahead of a tour in the country.
Two UK gigs, in Manchester and Leeds, were also been postponed until next year, “due to political pressure” from MPs and Jewish leaders.
The performance was also subject to a criminal investigation from Avon and Somerset Police, which recently concluded that no further action will be taken.
When asked for his thoughts on the chant, Lydon told The Times that it was “rather sad and pointless”.
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He added: “That’s just riding on the current wave of leftism, where you don’t have to think anymore. You just react with the herd. Moo!”
Lydon also reinforced previous comments about Kneecap, suggesting, “they should follow their own advice [as per their band name]”.
He made similar comments earlier this year when he claimed that the members “need a bloody good kneecapping” – referencing the form of physical punishment that inspired their band name.
At the time, footage from Kneecap’s previous live shows resurfaced and showed the members appearing to both support Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as call on fans to “kill their local MP”.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain at the time, the PiL frontman hit out at the band for their comments regarding MPs saying: “If you’re advocating the death of another human being, then you have no cause whatsoever. You are my enemy from here on in for the rest of your mediocre existence.”
He continued: “You shouldn’t be talking like that, you shouldn’t be making enemies of your fellow human beings. Other than that, maybe they need a bloody good kneecapping!”
Despite his latest comments, Lydon did back their campaign for a free Palestine “so long as you free it from Hamas.”
Over 1,200 attendees were killed in a terror attack at the Israeli music festival Supernova by Hamas in October 2023, and around 250 attendees were taken hostage by Hamas, according to figures from The Guardian.
Since the conflict escalated in 2023, at least 71,200 Palestinians people have been killed in Gaza, according to figures via Sky News.
Lydon also said that he would perform with his band in Israel again, adding: “Of course. There are human beings in Israel, aren’t there? My attitude about playing in pro-Muslim nations has always been the same too. Why won’t you let us?”
PiL previously performed in Tel Aviv in 2010.
Elsewhere, in the same interview, Lydon said his former Sex Pistols bandmates did not reach out to him when his wife Nora Forster died.
