British Airways (BA) has paused its sponsorship of The Louis Theroux Podcast following an interview with Bob Vylan’s frontman.
Pascal Robinson-Foster, one half of the controversial punk duo, told Theroux in an episode which aired earlier this week that he was «not regretful» of chanting «death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]» at this year’s Glastonbury.
He added that he would «do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays».
British Airways said on Saturday that the content «breaches» its sponsorship policy and has since paused its advertising on the podcast, the Jewish News first reported.
An airline spokesperson said: «Our sponsorship of the series has now been paused and the advert has been removed.
«We’re grateful that this was brought to our attention, as the content clearly breaches our sponsorship policy in relation to politically sensitive or controversial subject matters.
«We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues don’t occur and we’re investigating how this happened.»
Following Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, the band were dropped by a number of festivals and performances including Radar festival, a show at a German music venue and their US tour after their visas were revoked.
The comments were condemned by the US as a «hateful tirade» and «appalling hate speech» by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit has since found the broadcast of Bob Vylan’s set breached editorial standards related to harm and offence.
The band have also had to reschedule dates of its upcoming We Won’t Go Quietly UK tour in Manchester and Leeds after Jewish leaders and politicians called for the show to be postponed.
Theroux has not commented on BA pausing its sponsorship of his podcast. Pic: AP
In a statement on Facebook, the group said: «Due to political pressure from the likes of Bridget Phillipson and groups in the Northwest of England we have had to reschedule our Leeds and Manchester shows.
«All tickets remain valid and all other shows are continuing as planned.»
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Calls for Bob Vylan concert to be cancelled
When asked by Theroux, Vylan said he was taken aback by the uproar the chant has caused, saying: «It wasn’t like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. British Airways (BA) has decided to temporarily suspend its sponsorship of The Louis Theroux Podcast due to an interview with Bob Vylan’s frontman, Pascal Robinson-Foster. In the interview, Robinson-Foster expressed no regret for chanting «death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]» at Glastonbury and stated he would do it again. British Airways stated that this content violates their sponsorship policy, leading to the removal of their advert from the podcast. Despite receiving criticism, Bob Vylan’s album has gained support from fans, reaching number one on the UK Hip Hop and R&B album chart. The Louis Theroux Podcast, produced by Mindhouse Productions, has not commented on the BA sponsorship issue but encourages people to listen to the entire interview for context. Following the controversial performance at Glastonbury, Bob Vylan faced consequences such as being dropped from festivals and performances and having their US tour canceled. The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit found that the broadcast of Bob Vylan’s set breached editorial standards related to harm and offense. Additionally, the band had to reschedule their upcoming tour dates in Manchester and Leeds due to calls from Jewish leaders and politicians to postpone the shows. Louis Theroux has not yet commented on British Airways pausing their sponsorship of his podcast. British Airways (BA) has decided to pause its sponsorship of The Louis Theroux Podcast following an interview with Bob Vylan’s frontman. Pascal Robinson-Foster, one half of the controversial punk duo, openly expressed his lack of regret for chanting «death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]» at this year’s Glastonbury during an episode with Theroux that aired recently. He boldly stated that he would «do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays.»
The airline made a public statement on Saturday acknowledging that the content of the podcast «breaches» its sponsorship policy, prompting them to halt their advertising on the podcast. This decision was first reported by the Jewish News. An airline spokesperson remarked, «Our sponsorship of the series has now been paused and the advert has been removed. We’re grateful that this was brought to our attention, as the content clearly breaches our sponsorship policy in relation to politically sensitive or controversial subject matters. We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues don’t occur and we’re investigating how this happened.»
The controversial nature of Bob Vylan’s actions has led to backlash and calls for their concerts in Leeds and Manchester to be cancelled due to political pressure from individuals like Bridget Phillipson and groups in the Northwest of England. However, the group assured fans that all tickets remain valid and their other shows are proceeding as planned.
In response to a question from Theroux about the uproar caused by the chant, Vylan expressed surprise at the reaction, stating, «It wasn’t like we came off stage, and everybody was like [gasps]. It’s just normal.» He further emphasized his desire for an end to «the oppression that Palestinian people are facing.»
Despite facing criticism, Bob Vylan has also received support from fans, leading to their album «Humble As The Sun» re-entering the charts and reaching number one in the UK Hip Hop and R&B album category. Mindhouse Productions, founded by Theroux and the producer of The Louis Theroux Podcast, has refrained from commenting on the BA sponsorship issue but advised individuals to listen to the interview in its entirety to grasp the full context of the conversation.
The controversy surrounding Bob Vylan’s actions and British Airways’ response underscores the complexities of navigating politically sensitive topics in today’s media landscape. The pause in sponsorship highlights the importance of aligning brand values with content to uphold ethical standards and avoid unintended consequences. Following Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury, the band faced backlash and were dropped from several festivals and shows, including Radar festival, a German music venue performance, and their US tour due to revoked visas. The comments made by the band were criticized as «hateful tirade» by the US and «appalling hate speech» by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit found that the broadcast of Bob Vylan’s set breached editorial standards related to harm and offense. Additionally, the band had to reschedule dates for their upcoming We Won’t Go Quietly UK tour in Manchester and Leeds after pressure from Jewish leaders and politicians.
In response to the criticism, the group stated on Facebook that they had to reschedule their Leeds and Manchester shows due to political pressure. They assured that all tickets remain valid and other shows will continue as planned.
Despite the controversy, Bob Vylan received support from fans, leading to their album «Humble As The Sun» re-entering the charts and reaching number one in the UK Hip Hop and R&B album category. A spokesperson for Mindhouse Productions, founded by Louis Theroux and producer of The Louis Theroux Podcast, did not comment on British Airways’ sponsorship but encouraged people to listen to the full context of the interview with Bob Vylan.
SOURCE
