Louis Theroux Breaks Silence On Fall-Out From Bob Vylan Interview
Louis Theroux has spoken for the first time about the aftermath of his interview with the frontman of the punk rap duo Bob Vylan.
Back in October, Louis sat down with musician Bobby Vylan to discuss the controversy that arose at last year’s Glastonbury festival, where the Mobo winner led the crowd in a chant of “death to the IDF” in solidarity with Palestine.
At the time, the performer faced condemnation from Glastonbury’s organisers, the BBC – who broadcast the set live on its iPlayer service – and even prime minister Keir Starmer.
Despite this, Bobby insisted during his Louis Theroux interview that he’d “do it again tomorrow”, mantaining that he is “not regretful” of what transpired at Glastonbury, insisting that the “subsequent backlash” that he faced was “minimal compared to what people in Palestine are going through”.
In the wake of its release, British Airways announced it was pulling its sponsorship of Louis’ podcast, which the British documentarian has now addressed in a new interview with Deadline.
Admitting that it was “painful to lose a sponsor”, Louis stood by the interview, claiming: “That’s what I do. That’s my unique place in the British broadcasting landscape. I’m willing to have difficult conversations and long may it continue.”
He continued: “The interview went out a couple of days after [a terrorist incident outside a synagogue in Manchester on the holy day of Yom Kippur], and there’s a lot of fear that’s real, and I want to acknowledge that.
“At the same time I’m very proud of how we handled the interview and how we did it. But I don’t want to minimise the feelings that are going on.”
Following British Airways’ announcement it would no longer sponsor Louis Theroux’s podcast, Bobby described the move as a “scare tactic”.
He told his X followers: “I went on the podcast and as hard as the lobby groups and media tried, they couldn’t twist anything I said. So they have resorted to lobbying for Louis’ sponsorship to be pulled in an attempt to scare others out of giving me a platform.”