Bob Vylan announced Friday that they plan to sue the BBC for defamation over the corporation’s reaction to the rap duo’s controversial 2025 Glastonbury performance.
“We have decided to take legal action against the BBC. In the immediate aftermath of our performance at Glastonbury 2025, The BBC wasted no time in placing labels upon us that did not, do not and never will fit,” Bob Vylan wrote on social media.
“As a corporation that receives the majority of its funding from the public, it has disappointingly continued to prove how little it represents the interests of the people and our access to unbiased news and information.”
At the 2025 Glastonbury, rapper Bobby Vylan of the group led crowds on the West Holts Stage in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].” Festival organizers said they were “appalled” by the comments, and the BBC — which aired the performance live — later confirmed that the set will not be available to watch on demand.
“The BBC have attempted to silence those that oppose the heinous crimes taking place in Palestine, instead labelling them as anti-semitic, editing their speeches, removing their content and even blocking the release of documentaries that challenge the desired narrative of The BBC and its top brass,” Bob Vylan wrote Friday.
“These responses are unacceptable. So seeing the opportunity to remind them the power of the people that they are attempting to silence, we had no choice but to take on this fight. In fact, we take great pleasure in serving them that reminder in court.”
In the aftermath of Glastonbury, Bob Vylan’s visas were revoked by the U.S. state department, and other music festivals canceled the duo’s gigs. U.K. police also deliberated whether to pursue charges over the Glastonbury performance, but the investigation was ultimately dropped.
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“Like what if I was to go on Glastonbury again tomorrow, yes I would do it again. I’m not regretful of it. I’d do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays,” Bobby Vylan said in an October 2025 interview.
“I’m not regretful of it at all, like the subsequent backlash that I’ve faced. It’s minimal. It’s minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through. If that can be my contribution and if I can have my Palestinian friends and people that I meet from Palestine, that have had to flee, that have lost members in double digits of their family and they can say, yo, your chant, I love it.”
