‘Absolutely disgraceful!’ Nana Akua and Alex Armstrong tear into BBC over Bob Vylan footage as broadcaster 'finally' releases statement

'About time!' Nana and Alex say they are 'glad' BBC have 'finally' issued a statement on Bob Vylan comments
GB NEWS
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 30/06/2025

- 12:47

It comes after the BBC released a statement admitting it "made an error" in not pulling the live stream of the controversial performance

Nana Akua and Alexander Armstrong have teared into the BBC for its "delayed" response to Bob Vylan's controversial performance at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday.

It comes after the BBC released a statement this morning admitting it "made an error" in not pulling the live stream of the controversial performance.


The performance that sparked outrage occurred on Saturday at Glastonbury's West Holts Stage, where rapper Bobby Vylan led crowds in chants of "Death, death to the IDF" and "Free, free Palestine."

Speaking about the statement from the BBC on GB News, Alex said: "You know what it is about time. How has it taken them this long to come to this conclusion? And it comes from pressure from organisations like GB News.

Nana Akua

Nana Akua fumed over the comments

GB NEWS

"We were talking about this earlier, weren’t we? People were messaging in and saying, ‘Please stop showing this footage, please stop talking about it.’ But if we don’t talk about it, nothing changes. And this is why it’s so important we have these discussions.

"The things we saw from Bob Vylan were absolutely vile. They were vulgar. They never should have been broadcast under your taxpayer dime, effectively, on the BBC. You’re paying for it under your TV licence.

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"Quite frankly, I’m glad they’ve at least come to the conclusion that it should have been pulled."

Nana Akua added: "What was their contingency for this? And the thing is, people are asking us not to play it, and I understand that. One viewer Sandra, for example she said, ‘Please stop playing that man inciting violence against the IDF. It really is too much.’

"Now, as someone who says, ‘Talk about it, but don’t keep showing it’ well look, Sandra, we’re making sure something is done about this nonsense.

"We fund the BBC. It is the broadcaster for everyone in this country and that includes Israeli people, Jewish people, and all of us who pay to watch or listen to it.

WATCH: Former BBC presenter and DJ Alex Dyke says he’s 'outraged' by the BBC airing Bob Vylan’s ‘Death to the IDF’ chant

"So there is no justification for them continuing to show this footage."

The BBC released a statement earlier this morning that read: "Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC's output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive.

"The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.

"The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer. The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines.

Bob VylanBob Vylan at Glastonbury PA

"In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.

"In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air."

Earlier today it was reported that Ofcom have announced an investigation into the broadcasters choice to air the performance. The watchdog said the BBC “clearly has questions to answer” over how the set was shown live on Saturday.

Avon and Somerset Police also began a review of footage of the controversial act so that they can determine whether any criminal offences were committed.