Bob Vylan have issued a statement after they caused another round of media outrage this weekend, this time via on-stage comments made at a gig in Amsterdam about the murder of American right wing activist Charlie Kirk. While the duo deny they “celebrated” Kirk's death on-stage, they did refer to him as “a piece of shit” just days after he was shot dead at an event in Utah.
Another Bob Vylan show due to take place in the Netherlands tomorrow has been cancelled in response to the latest controversy involving the punk duo, with the venue set to host that gig saying, “these new statements go too far”.
While Bob Vylan have been criticised for being disparaging of Kirk so soon after his death, some fans of Coldplay were critical of Chris Martin for suggesting they “send love” to the activist's family during a London show on Friday.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world of musicians versus right wing activists, James have criticised Tommy Robinson for using their song ‘Sit Down’ in a social media post from the big political march the right winger organised in the UK capital this weekend.
Bob Vylan have been in the media spotlight ever since their BBC broadcast Glastonbury set, in which they spoke about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leading the crowd in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF”.
In a statement issued yesterday, frontman Bobby Vylan said that one reporter came to their Amsterdam show with “the sole purpose of finding something to report”, and - after he called Kirk “a piece of shit” - that journalist “wrote it up as a celebration”. But, he insists, it “at no point did we celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death”.
Kirk, of course, was also a controversial figure, as founder of conservative youth organisation Turning Point, and a prominent Christian nationalist and ally of Donald Trump. He regularly expressed and promoted strong right wing opinions on a plethora of issues including immigration, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and gun control. He was also a vocal supporter of Israel.
Ever since he was shot dead during a public debate at Utah Valley University last week, public figures on the other side of the political spectrum to Kirk have had to balance condemning the murder, and expressing sympathy for his family, with continuing to express their opposition to his political views. Some, like Bob Vylan, have chosen to do so in a more flippant way.
During Saturday’s show, Bobby told his audience he was dedicating one of his songs to “an absolute piece of shit of a human being”. Joking that that person’s “pronouns” are “was/were”, he then added, “if you chat shit, you will get banged. Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit”.
According to NME, Saturday’s Bob Vylan set also included the customary statements on Gaza and Israel, with Bobby declaring, “Fuck the fascists, fuck the Zionists, go find them and meet them in the streets. Find them and let them know you don’t fucking stand by them. Death, death to the IDF”.
The duo were due to play a venue called 013 in Tilburg in the Netherlands tomorrow, but that show has now been cancelled.
The venue’s statement says that, while it understands that Bobby’s comments during the Amsterdam show “were made in the context of punk and activism”, and that reports about the duo’s performances can be “sometimes less nuanced than what actually happened”, it still believes the latest comments “go too far”.
It explained that it proceeded with the Bob Vylan show after the Glastonbury controversy because of assurances from the duo that their “death to the IDF” chant was not intended as an antisemitic statement, but as specific criticism of the Israeli military. However, following Saturday's show the band “no longer fall within the scope of what we can offer a platform”.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin also mentioned Charlie Kirk on stage this weekend, but in a very different way. During a short spot encouraging his audience to “send love” out into the world, one of the possible recipients for that love suggested by the frontman was “Charlie Kirk's family”, and, more generically, “people you disagree with but you're sending love anyway”.
That prompted a flurry of posts on social media, including from people at the show, expressing bewilderment over why Martin would specifically pick out Kirk’s family, given many of the band’s fans would be strongly opposed to the activist’s politics.
While the right wing of politics of the US is still reacting to Kirk’s killing, in the UK many right wingers gathered in London this weekend for a big march and protest fronted by also controversial activist Tommy Robinson.
As Robinson’s team squabbled with the media and London’s Metropolitan Police over quite how many people had showed up to the so called ‘Unite The Kingdom’ march, he posted a video with footage of the event, soundtracked by James track ‘Sit Down’.
Needless to say, that musical inclusion had not been sanctioned by the band. Frontman Tim Booth wrote on X, “Disgusted to see the cynical use of ‘Sit Down’ by Tommy Robinson”. The 1989 track, and James’ wider output, “makes it very clear where we stand” politically, Booth added, and it’s “the antithesis” of what Robinson and his organisation advocates.
He then added, “no permission was granted” for the use of ‘Sit Down, and “we are looking into our options”.