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Bob Vylan Sues RTÉ in Dublin Over Report Portraying Glastonbury Chant as Antisemitic

The case tests how Irish defamation law treats media characterizations of political speech about the IDF.

Overview

  • High Court records show Phoenix Law filed the defamation claim on behalf of singer Pascal Robinson-Foster and drummer Wade Laurence George.
  • The suit says an RTÉ News broadcast alleged the frontman led antisemitic chants, a claim the band calls entirely untrue.
  • RTÉ has declined to comment on the proceedings.
  • The dispute stems from the BBC-livestreamed Glastonbury set where the singer chanted “death, death to the IDF,” after which the BBC apologized and partially upheld complaints over its coverage.
  • Related fallout included police inquiries in Somerset and London, a decision by the Met to take no further action over a separate London show, and professional consequences such as revoked US visas and canceled bookings, while Manchester Evening News later apologized and paid damages over an unrelated false claim.