Who Is Bob Vylan, And Why Did US Revoke Their Visa?
Bobby Vylan, the punk-rap duo, grabbed the headlines while performing at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival, chanted ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Death to the IDF’, which has triggered significant outrage among the Zionist circle and led to the US State Department revoking his visa.
Bob Vylan was dropped by his agency, they cancelled his visa ahead of his US tour, the UK and US governments denounced him as an evil violent monster, the BBC apologized for airing his set. Why? Because he said death to the genocidal Israeli rape-army that is mass killing babies pic.twitter.com/2Vh3acq7Q4
— ☀️👀 (@zei_squirrel) June 30, 2025
The Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, wrote on X to inform about the revocation of the visas of the members of the Bob Vylan band.
The @StateDept 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.
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) June 30, 2025
Also, the UK government has reportedly started a criminal investigation against him. The US and UK moves have created debate between freedom of expression and incitement to violence in public discourse.
Read also: Famous/Infamous Quotes: Past Statements By Israeli Politicians About Palestinians
As per the reports, Bob Vylan is no longer listed on UTA’s roster on its website. A rep for Bob Vylan couldn’t be reached.
Meanwhile BBC has also said that it should have cut away from a live broadcast of Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury. “We regret this did not happen”, BBC said.
The BBC spokesperson said that the BBC respects freedom of expression but opposes incitement to violence. The antisemitism expressed by Bob Vylan is not acceptable and has no place on our airwaves, the BBC said.
Bobby Vylan – real name Pascal Robinson-Foster posted on Instagram and took a stand by his on-stage comments, wrote, “I said what I said”. He told fans he had been ‘inundated’ with messages of both ‘support and hatred’ and calls for a change in Israel’s foreign policy.
Read also: How Mamdani’s New York Victory Exposed Islamophobia In U.S. Politics
The rap punk duo formed a band in Suffolk in 2017 by the singer, guitarist, and poet with drummer Bobbie Vylan. Collectively known as ‘the Bobs’, they perform under their similar stage names.
Their lyrics surround themes including racism, police violence, capitalism, fatherhood, homophobia, and toxic masculinity.
The duo released their debut album, We Live Here, in 2020. Later, they went on to tour with the likes of the Offspring, the Hives, and Biffy Clyro and performed at Leeds and Reading Festivals in 2021.
Their second album, Price of Life, entered the UK album chart at number 18, winning the Kerrang! magazine award for best album in 2022 and later bagging the Mobo Awards.
