Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan are suing Irish national broadcaster RTE for defamation, claiming it misrepresented chants led by the band when they played this year’s Glastonbury festival.

The group, which performed at Dublin’s Vicar Street last month, claim they were defamed in a report by RTE News that said the lead singer led antisemitic chants when they played the Somerset festival in June.

During their performance, singer Pascal Robinson-Foster, whose stage name is Bobby Vylan, led a chant of “death, death, to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]”.

It provoked widespread criticism of the artist, including from Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis, and the BBC, which live streamed their show.

Phoenix Law launched legal action on behalf of Robinson-Foster and drummer Wade Laurence George at Ireland’s High Court on Monday, according to court records.

The firm said: “The proceedings arise from a broadcast aired by RTE News following Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury Festival on 28 June 2025.

“During this broadcast, comments were made alleging that the lead singer of Bob Vylan led antisemitic chants. These allegations are categorically denied by our clients and are entirely untrue.”

Phoenix Law said Bob Vylan had made statements expressing support for Palestinian self-determination and criticising military actions by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces).

His comments did not target Jewish people or express hatred towards any group, the firm said, suggesting they were “politically charged but not antisemitic in nature”.

Solicitor Darragh Mackin said the pair “are no stranger to utilising their freedom of expression to speak out against the genocide in Gaza“.

Mr Mackin said there was “a fundamental distinction between speaking critically about the role of the Israeli state forces, and being antisemitic”.

“The former is speech within the confines of political expression, whereas the latter is a form of hatred directed towards Jewish people,” he added.

Read more on Sky News:
Who are Bob Vylan?

The BBC apologised, including to the Jewish community, and said it regretted not pulling the live stream of the set and promised not to live stream “high-risk” acts in future.

It partially upheld complaints made over the broadcast, accepting the live stream broke the corporation’s editorial guidelines.

Ofcom’s chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said the BBC needed to “get a grip quicker” on handling such controversies and complete its internal reports and investigations sooner.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police said detectives would take no further action over similar alleged chants made at a Bob Vylan gig in London in May.

The individual was not arrested but an investigation was ongoing, the Met said.

Avon and Somerset Police said a man, in his 30s, understood to be Mr Robinson-Foster, had voluntarily attended an interview in relation to the band’s Glastonbury performance. Enquiries are ongoing, the force said on Tuesday.

The US condemned the act’s “hateful tirade”, revoking their visas, while several festivals cancelled their upcoming appearances.

Speaking to Louis Theroux in October, Bobby Vylan said he had no regrets about the chants and would do it again “tomorrow”.

Sky News has contacted RTE for comment.

Rapper Ghetts has pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

The 41-year-old also pleaded guilty to driving dangerously before the fatal collision shortly after 11.30pm on 18 October.

The musician, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, appeared for a hearing at the Old Bailey via videolink from Pentonville prison, wearing a green polo shirt.

Yubin Tamang, 20, a student from Nepal, died two days after being hit by Clarke-Samuel’s BMW M5 in Redbridge Lane, Ilford, northeast London.

Ghetts, a two-time Mercury Prize nominee and MOBO winner, has been in custody since a preliminary appearance at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on 27 October.

He will now be sentenced in February.

The rapper was first nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize in 2021, for his third album Conflict Of Interest. His second nomination for his fourth album, On Purpose, With Purpose, in 2024.

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British drama Adolescence has seen its lead stars all nominated for Golden Globe awards.

The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl, as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. It was one of the most talked-about shows of the year.

Graham, along with Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty are all up for gongs. It follows a host of wins at the Emmys in September.

Receiving five nominations in total, the Netflix limited series was only beaten by HBO’s White Lotus, which got six nods, coming top in the TV category.

Cynthia Erivo was nominated for her role in the Wicked sequel, Wicked For Good, while British stars Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren and Aimee Lou Wood also got recognition for their roles in Slow Horses, Mobland and The White Lotus, respectively.

Mirren will also be awarded one of the Globe’s two lifetime achievement awards, the Cecil B DeMille Award, announced a few days before the ceremony in the New Year.

Emily Blunt picked up a surprise nomination for her role in The Smashing Machine, opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – who also got a nod for the sports biopic.

Tessa Thompson was recognised for her role in Hedda, a modern re-telling of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play.

Irish stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley were both nominated for Hamnet, the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s book about William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. The movie isn’t out in the UK until January.

Films, TV – and podcasts

Unlike other awards, the Globes cover both TV and film and are split by genre, falling into either the drama or comedy and musical category – meaning a wealth of nominees are in the running.

This year, there are 28 categories.

In the film category, One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, led the nominations with nine, followed by Norwegian comedy-drama Sentimental Value with eight, and vampire horror Sinners with seven.

KPop Demon Hunters continued its world domination with three nominations – best animated film, cinematic and box office achievement and original song – making an Oscar nod further down the line look more and more likely.

New to this year’s nominations is a category for podcasts. Selected from a long list of the 25 most-listened to shows, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard and Call Her Daddy were among the casts that made the cut.

Sarah Jessica Parker will be honoured with the Carol Burnett Award.

Now in comeback mode, the Globes had previously faced criticism over a lack of diversity in the organisation, which led to the event being held behind closed doors in 2022.

The 83rd Golden Globes ceremony will take place in LA on 11 January, and will be hosted by US comedian Nikki Glaser for the second year running.

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