Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan faced significant backlash after frontman Bobby Vylan made controversial remarks referencing the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk during a concert at Amsterdam’s Paradiso Grote Zaal on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University, an incident authorities have described as a targeted political assassination.
During the performance, Bobby Vylan dedicated the song “CSGB” (an acronym for “chat shit, get banged”) to Kirk, saying: “I want to dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of shit of a human being. The pronouns was/were. ‘Cos if you chat shit, you will get banged. Rest in piss, Charlie Kirk, you piece of shit.”
The comment sparked outrage with many condemning his insensitive remarks. The backlash led to the cancellation of the band’s upcoming concert at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Netherlands, scheduled for September 16. The venue stated that while it understood the context of punk and activism, the comments “go too far” and “no longer fall within the scope of what we can offer as a platform.”
In response, Bobby Vylan released a video on social media on Sunday, Sept. 14, incredibly denying that he celebrated Kirk’s death. He stated: “At no point during yesterday’s show, was Charlie Kirk’s death celebrated. At no point whatsoever. Did we celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death? I did call him a piece of shit, that much is true but at no point was his death celebrated.”
Bob Vylan challenged critics to find any quote proving celebration, asserting that a reporter had attended the show specifically to find controversial material to report. He concluded by urging the public to “calm down,” claiming the narrative had been misrepresented.
Within minutes replies to Bobby Vylan's post on X, were flooded with video clips of him actually celebrating Kirk's assasination during his perfromance. Social media users mocked the punk-rap artist for blatantly lying about what he did. X's fact-checking Community Note also debunked his denial.
The punk rap duo have a history of far-left politically charged performances. The band had their US visas revoked over their rhetoric on the Israel-Palestine conflict. They have consistently defended their rhetoric as opposition to state violence and oppressive systems, not calls for violence against individuals or ethnic groups. However critics pointed out that Vylan targeted an individual, Kirk whose mission was to foster debates between people who diagree on cultural and political issues.
