At their recent Amsterdam show, Bob Vylan sparked outrage after appearing to celebrate the death of American commentator Charlie Kirk. The moment was captured on video and quickly spread across social media, igniting fierce debate about the band’s use of provocation and shock.
Here’s the full transcript from the viral clip:
[0:00 – 0:05] “I wanna dedicate this next one, to an absolute piece of shit”
[0:05 – 0:06] “Of a human being”
[0:08 – 0:11] “The pronouns was were”
[0:19 – 0:20] “Cause if you chat shit”
[0:20 – 0:23] “You will get banged”
[0:24 – 0:26] “Rest in peace Charlie Kirk”
[0:26 – 0:27] “A Piece of Shit”
The performance has been widely criticised as a “celebration” of Kirk’s death, with commentators calling it dangerous and irresponsible. As with their controversial Glastonbury appearance earlier this summer, where the band quickly issued a statement clarifying chants of “death to the IDF”, Bob Vylan have denied that it was a “celebration” in a social media video post.
This has intensified claims that the group are now deliberately stoking outrage to stay in the headlines. Supporters argue it is part of punk’s tradition of provocation, but critics accuse Bob Vylan of being addicted to controversy and fame, using shock value to push their name into the spotlight.