Rantz: Bob Vylan’s antisemitism, incitement to violence against Jews gets duo canceled in Seattle and Spokane

Thanks to the Trump administration, there are still some consequences for spewing vile, antisemitic hate. The British rap-duo Bob Vylan just found out the hard way. Now their Seattle and Spokane tour stops are on hold.

The band, celebrated by the radical left for their “politically charged” lyrics, finally crossed a line that even the most ardent progressives couldn’t ignore. During a performance at the Glastonbury Festival, frontman Bobby Vylan led the crowd in a chant of “death, death to the IDF.”  This wasn’t a call for a ceasefire, not a critique of policy, but a bloodthirsty cry for the death of Israeli soldiers.

Video showed the rapper shouting to the crowd, “Alright, but have you heard this one though? Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).”

Bob Vylan lose visas ahead of U.S. tour

As a consequence of his antisemitism, United Talent Agency reportedly dropped the band as a client. And the Department of State has revoked their visas.

“The (State Department) 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,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X Monday.

Bob Vylan were scheduled to perform at the Knitting Factory in Spokane on October 24 and at the Showbox in Seattle on October 25. The performers weren’t listed on the Showbox’s website as of Monday morning, but were still listed under a Ticketmaster page for the Knitting Factory.

BREAKING: Bob Vylan has been dropped by United Talent Agency after their Glastonbury set, Sky News understandshttps://t.co/G8gDzyqv3Q

📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/2pwTX0DdYH

— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 30, 2025

Mainstreaming antisemitism

What Bob Vylan and the crowd chanted wasn’t edgy political commentary. It was an antisemitic incitement to violence that has been mainstreamed. Finally, there was a swift and appropriate response.

President Donald Trump’s U.S. State Department, in a display of common sense, revoked the band’s visas, citing their “hateful tirade.” A spokesperson rightly said, “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”

Amen. We have enough violent antisemites in this country. We don’t need to import any additional ones.

Antisemitism has been welcomed in Seattle

For those of us in Seattle and Spokane who were about to be subjected to their brand of “art,” this is a welcome, if not surprising, development. It’s a sad reality that had this band been American, they’d likely be celebrated by our local activist class. Here in Seattle, where antisemitic graffiti is dismissed and pro-Hamas activists block traffic or organize on campuses with impunity, a call for the death of Jews (which, to be clear, was the subtext of “death to the IDF” for these extremists) would barely raise an eyebrow on Capitol Hill.

Bob Vylan and their apologists will no doubt cry censorship. They will claim their freedom of speech is being attacked. Have at it.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. And it certainly doesn’t grant foreign nationals the right to enter our country to spread their poison. You have the right to be a bigot; you do not have the right to a stage and a paycheck in the United States.

We already have Macklemore. Do we need Bob Vylan?

What’s truly remarkable is watching the institutions that platformed this band scramble to distance themselves.

Glastonbury organizers were “appalled.” The BBC, which broadcast the hate-filled chant, issued a pathetic mea culpa, admitting they “should have pulled the stream.” They were all happy to profit from the band’s “anti-establishment” vibe until the mask slipped and revealed the ugly, antisemitic face beneath. It seems hard to believe this is the first inkling that Glastonbury organizers or the BBC got to Bob Vylan’s hate.

So, while Seattle and Spokane music venues have to deal with a canceled show, we should consider ourselves lucky. We’ve been spared a performance that would have undoubtedly attracted the worst elements of our local activist scene, normalized vile antisemitism, and further coarsened our public discourse. We already have Macklemore. We don’t need Bob Vylan.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

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