Bob Vylan have been dropped by both their talent agency and management team following backlash over a Glastonbury performance in which frontman Bobby Vylan led chants of “Death to the IDF” from the stage.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the world’s biggest agencies, confirmed on Monday it had cut ties with the band. Their name no longer appears on the firm’s online roster. The group’s management has also stepped away.
The decision marks the first major industry consequence for the punk-rap duo after Saturday’s incendiary set on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage, which was livestreamed unedited by the BBC.
In the performance, Bobby Vylan also declared: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, inshallah” – a slogan widely seen as a call for the destruction of Israel – and accused “Zionists in the music industry” of censorship.
Festival organisers condemned the chant as “appalling”, saying it had “crossed a line”. Police have confirmed they are reviewing footage to assess whether any criminal offences took place.
Ahead of Kneecap, the rapper Bobby Vylan had launched into an incendiary rant at one stage about “Zionists”
The BBC initially kept the set live on iPlayer for several hours before removing it. In a statement, the broadcaster admitted it failed to act fast enough: “With hindsight, we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.”
The corporation added: “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.”
Posting on Instagram the following evening, Bobby Vylan responded defiantly under the heading “I said what I said”, claiming he had received “a mixture of support and hatred” and arguing that young people must be encouraged to campaign for change.
Formed in Ipswich in 2017, Bob Vylan have released four albums combining grime, punk and hardcore, and won Best Alternative Act at the MOBO Awards in 2022. Their work has often focused on race, class and anti-establishment themes.
The Israeli Embassy in London described the chant as “inflammatory and hateful”, warning such rhetoric “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.
