British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan faced a concert cancellation in the Netherlands on Monday after frontman Bobby Vylan’s remarks at a sold-out Amsterdam show were widely interpreted as targeting right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following reports of his death.
At Club Paradiso over the weekend, Bobby Vylan prefaced the duo’s performance of the song “CSGB” — shorthand for “chat shit, get banged” — by calling someone “an absolute piece of shit of a human being” and saying, "Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit!" The comments prompted Poppodium 013 in Tilburg to cancel the duo’s scheduled Tuesday show, saying the statements “clearly cross a line,” in a statement translated by Google.
Bobby Vylan posted a video to social media Sunday saying the crowd had not celebrated the death and acknowledging he had called the late activist a "piece of shit." "If it was, go find me a quote. Go find me something that proves that we were celebrating his death. You’re not going to find it because it didn’t happen," he said, adding, "Calm down." He later told followers the duo’s show in Nijmegen was still scheduled to go ahead.
Poppodium 013 said it supported the rapper’s anger over what it termed “genocidal violence” in Gaza, but concluded his remarks about Kirk were beyond acceptable limits. The venue’s cancellation follows a string of controversies surrounding Bob Vylan this year.
The duo drew international attention after leading a chant calling for "death to the IDF" during their performance at Glastonbury Festival in June, an incident that followed the BBC’s decision not to broadcast the pro-Palestinian group Kneecap’s set. The Glastonbury episode led to the pair being dropped by their talent agency, placed under local criminal investigation, and the U.S. Department of State revoking their visas for a planned fall tour.
Bob Vylan has been an outspoken critic of Israel and vocal in support of Palestinians. The group’s high-profile actions and rhetoric have prompted both public debate and official consequences, including loss of representation and cancelled international dates.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and commentator, had previously drawn scrutiny for comments opposing Palestinian statehood and for remarks saying Gazans should not be allowed into the United States. According to statements cited by critics, Kirk denied that Israel was starving Gaza and attributed civilian deaths in the territory after the Oct. 7 attacks to Hamas rather than Israeli actions.
Media coverage of Bobby Vylan’s Amsterdam remarks intensified after at least one reporter attended the show specifically to document the performance, the rapper said. Organizers and venues now must weigh public safety and reputational concerns alongside artists’ freedom of expression as the debate continues.
As of Monday, the duo’s Nijmegen concert remained listed as scheduled; promoters and venues have not released further joint statements. Bob Vylan’s management did not immediately respond to requests for comment beyond the frontman’s social media posts.