British Airways has suspended its sponsorship of Louis Theroux’s podcast after an appearance by British punk singer Bobby Vylan, who previously led a chant calling for “death to the Israeli army.”
Vylan, frontman of the band Bob Vylan, accused “pro-Israel lobby groups” of pressuring the airline to act. “This is a scare tactic,” he said Sunday. “They couldn’t twist what I said, so they lobbied to have Louis’ sponsorship pulled to stop others giving me a platform.”
At this year’s Glastonbury Festival, Vylan shouted “death, death, to the Israel Defense Forces,” a performance broadcast by the BBC. The chant drew widespread condemnation, prompting several festivals to drop the band and the US State Department to revoke its visas, forcing the cancellation of their US tour.
Vylan said he was “not regretful” and would “do it again tomorrow,” claiming that the backlash was minor compared to “what people in Palestine are going through.”
British Airways said the podcast episode breached its policy on politically sensitive or controversial content. “Our sponsorship of the series has been paused and the advert removed,” the airline told the Press Association.
Theroux’s interview with Vylan was recorded in October.