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During the controversial set at Glastonbury, frontman Bob Vylan led the crowd in chants including “death, death to the IDF“, along with slogans like “Free Palestine“ and “From the river to the sea.“ The incident sent shockwaves through political circles and drew swift condemnation. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the chants as “appalling hate speech” and demanded an explanation from the BBC. At the same time, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy highlighted a “problem of leadership” within the corporation. The Israeli Embassy described the rhetoric as “deeply disturbing.”

 

 

 

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For Bob Vylan, the repercussions were significant. Avon and Somerset Police launched a criminal investigation into the comments, exploring potential hate crime legislation. The band also faced professional setbacks, including the revocation of US visas and the cancellation of European shows.

The ECU determined that some of these chants could be “fairly characterised as antisemitic” when viewed in total context, particularly remarks targeting record executives described as “Zionists.” However, the ECU found no breach of the BBC’s rules on material likely to encourage or incite crime. It reasoned that the performance was not news coverage but part of a music festival broadcast, and thus subject to more tolerance for expressive content. In the immediate aftermath, the BBC removed the footage from its on-demand services, with Director-General Tim Davie expressing deep regret and Chairman Samir Shah calling it “unquestionably an error of judgment.”

The BBC has ruled that Bob Vylan’s chant of “Death, death to the IDF” and antisemitic slurs at Glastonbury broke its rules on harm and offence — but ludicrously decided that this was not incitement to violence. This absurd decision is yet another an insult to British Jews from… pic.twitter.com/Yaq6BYfipg — Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) September 26, 2025

This ruling highlights a fundamental challenge for the BBC. While the ECU’s distinction is based on a traditional media framework, the public and political responses to the incident demonstrate that this separation is no longer tenable. In a digital environment where live streams coexist with news content, the public does not make the same genre-based distinctions. The BBC’s own reactive policy change to drop ‘high risk’ live streams is a tacit admission that its impartiality policy is in question.

The BBC’s decision to partly uphold complaints over Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance is more than a verdict on one band’s set. It is a signal that the space between protest art and broadcast responsibility is narrowing under public scrutiny. As artists continue to push against political and cultural boundaries, and as audiences demand both accountability and authenticity, broadcasters will face mounting pressure to rethink how they handle moments like this in the future, as they continue to operate in an increasingly polarised time.

The track from West’s latest project, ‘Carnival’ seems to feature a brief guitar riff from the Black Sabbath track: ‘Iron Man’. Although the original version of ‘Carnival’ was intended to use Black Sabbath’s iconic ‘Iron Man’ riff, the live show switched this sample to one from West’s own discography. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s ‘Hell of a Life’ was used in place of ‘Iron Man’. However, ‘Hell of a Life’ is itself an interpolation of Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’. Speaking on social media Osbourne said: “Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the US festival without vocals and was refused because he is an antisemite”.

. @KANYEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF “IRON MAN” FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY. HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM…

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) February 9, 2024

Kanye West, as of late, has continually entrenched himself in controversy surrounding his frequent antisemitic outbursts. Speaking last year with far-right conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, West said: “I see good things about Hitler.” Elaborating further, West doubled down by saying: “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler”. Kanye West has spent the last year surrounding himself with far-right personalities like the aforementioned Jones, who has recently lost a court case after he popularised a conspiracy theory that suggested that a 2012 shooting that took place in Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary school was a hoax.

Other associates of West include Nick Fuentes, a far-right ethno-nationalist who is recognised by the Anti-Defamation League as a holocaust denier. As reported by Politico, both West and Fuentes attended a dinner hosted by former Republican president Donald Trump in late 2022. West has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump since 2016. Although not Jewish himself, Ozzy’s wife Sharron Osbourne has gone on record with The Jewish Chronicle to say: “My family, my father’s family, my aunt, my cousins, are all Jewish.” In this light, Ozzy Osbourne’s statement that Kanye West’s antisemitic behaviour “has caused untold heartache to many” appears to have affected him on a personal level.

Although Kanye West posted an apology in Hebrew to his twitter page in late 2023 that read: “I sincerely apologise to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions.”, West continues to portray himself as an antisemite. Last night’s listening party livestream was cut short after the rapper said: “I’m still crazy, bipolar, antisemite, and I’m still the king”.

Despite his stance against West, Osbourne is not without his own political controversies. In a 1982 interview with Night Flight, a now-defunct American variety show, Osbourne stated that he got his ideas for his live performances from “Adolf Hitler”. The singer went on to say that: “Hitler had a charisma in a bad way and I kind of admired him. He was a freak; he was a lunatic, but he had something about him”.

Whether or not Osbourne’s past comments should be taken seriously, it is clear that he is attempting to distance himself from the antisemitism espoused by Kanye West, signing his tweet off by saying: “I want no association with this man [Kanye West].”

Waters’ defence comes after an investigation by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) uploaded a video accusing him of repeated derogatory references to Jews. The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which is available on YouTube, includes a number of serious claims by those who have worked with the outspoken ex-Floyd bassist over the years, including Bob Ezrin, the co-producer behind the band’s acclaimed 1979 album The Wall.

Watch the video below:

Waters, who was initially reluctant to acknowledge CAA’s allegations, has now published a lengthy statement dismissing the documentary as “a flimsy, unapologetic piece of propaganda” and “without any foundation in fact”.

“All my life I have used the platform my career has given me to support causes I believe in,” he wrote. “I passionately believe in universal human rights. I have always worked to make the world a better, more just and more equitable place for all my brothers and sisters, all over the world, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, from indigenous peoples threatened by the U.S. oil industry to Iranian women protesting for their rights.”

“That is why I am active in the non-violent protest movement against the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestine and its egregious treatment of Palestinians,” he continued. “Those who wish to conflate that position with antisemitism do a great disservice to us all.”

Waters goes on to explain that the CAA’s core purpose is “waging partisan political campaigns against critics of the state of Israel” and that the organisation “manipulates footage and quotations to serve its agenda”.

“The film totally distorts and misrepresents my views about the Israeli state and its political ideology, Zionism,” he continues. “It relies on a definition of antisemitism that sees criticising Israel as inherently antisemitic and assumes that Zionism is an essential element in Jewish identity. These opinions, clearly shared by the presenter and the two interviewees, are widely contested by many, including many Jewish people.”

Read Waters’ full statement, which also addresses more concrete accusations, here.

The record-breaking songwriter is, of course, no stranger to controversy – allegations of antisemitism have plagued him throughout 2023. He drew criticism earlier this year for performing in a Nazi-like get-up during a concert in Berlin, prompting an investigation from the German police.

Waters, however, has always maintained he is not an antisemite and claims critics are missing the point of his shows.

Photo credit: Sharon Alagna