Bob Vylan have announced plans to take legal action against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of defamation over its response to the duo’s controversial 2025 Glastonbury set.
“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,” the duo wrote on social media this week.
“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.”
The lawsuit stems from Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury 2025, where frontman Bobby Vylan led crowds on the West Holts Stage in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF.”
Glastonbury organisers called the comments “appalled” at the time, and the BBC — which aired the set live — later confirmed it wouldn’t be made available on demand. The corporation subsequently issued an apology, with Director General Tim Davie labelling the performance “antisemitic,” and confirmed all future “high risk” acts would no longer be broadcast live.
“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.
“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 immediate aftermath of the Glastonbury show, Bob Vylan’s US visas were revoked by the State Department ahead of a planned North American tour, and the pair were dropped from several European festivals. UK police opened an investigation into the chants, which was ultimately dropped in December after prosecutors found no realistic prospect of conviction.
In an interview on The Louis Theroux Podcast late last year, Vylan said he’d repeat the performance without hesitation.
“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,” he said. “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.”
