A music venue has pulled an upcoming Bob Vylan concert after the rap duo mocked the assassination of Charlie Kirk onstage in the Netherlands.
The 013 in the Dutch city of Tilburg announced the planned gig by the polarising punk duo on September 16 has been cancelled after saying the comments made by the singer “go too far”.
During a sold-out performance at Amsterdam’s Paradiso on Saturday evening, frontman Bobby Vylan, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, told the audience: “I want to dedicate this one to an absolute piece of s*** of a human being.
“The pronouns was/were. Because if you talk s***, you will get banged.
“Rest in peace Charlie Kirk you piece of s***.”
In response to the on-stage outburst, Paradiso said: “In a world on fire, artists sometimes choose language that sounds confrontational or violent… That is part of artistic expression”.
The venue added: “Should the Openbaar Ministerie wish to investigate whether any criminal offences have been committed, Paradiso will cooperate.”
However, the 013 in Tilburg did not share the same view and axed the Ipswich-born duo’s upcoming performance.
In a statement posted to its website, the venue said: “The planned performance by British rap-punk group Bob Vylan on Tuesday, September 16th, at Poppodium 013 in Tilburg has been cancelled.
“The reason for the cancellation is the controversial statements the artist made last night during a show at Paradiso in Amsterdam.
“Despite the controversy that arose after their Glastonbury performance, 013 decided to let Bob Vylan perform in Tilburg.
“While we understand that these statements were made in the context of punk and activism, and that the reporting on them is sometimes less nuanced than what actually happened, we still believe these new statements go too far.
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“They no longer fall within the scope of what we can offer a platform.”
In response to the intense backlash, Mr Vylan posted a video on social media denying to have mocked Mr Kirk’s death and told people to “calm down”.
The performer said: “At no point during yesterday’s show was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated.
“If it was, go find me a quote. Go find me something that proves we were celebrating his death.
“You’re not going to find it because it didn’t happen.”
The punk artist added that he did “call him a piece of s***, that much is true”.
The group gained infamy after their performance at Glastonbury in the summer after chanting “death, death to the IDF” on live TV, causing Avon and Somerset Police to launch an investigation.
Bob Vylan are set to embark on a UK tour in November, performing in Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, London, Bristol and Birmingham.
