Malaysian Festival Cancelled After The 1975’s Matty Healy Kisses Male Band Member On Stage
Image: The 1975's lead singer, Matty Healy, speaks out against Malaysian Laws. Image: The 1975/Twitter
A Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur has been cancelled after The 1975’s lead singer, Matty Healy, and bass guitarist, Ross MacDonald, kissed on stage in protest of the countries’ stance against LGBT rights.
The three-day Good Vibes festival was stopped by organisers and the Malaysian Government following the band’s performance on Friday night.
Known for their support for queer rights, the band was forced off the stage following the kiss and Healy’s comments against the Malaysian Government’s anti-LGBT policies.
“If you push, I’m gonna push back”
Mid-way through the band’s set on Friday night, Healy began expressing his frustrations saying he “made a mistake” when booking the show.
“ I don’t see the fucking point… of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” he continued.
“I’m sorry if that offends you, and you’re religious, but your government are a bunch of fucking r******… If you push, I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the fucking mood.”
Healy continued by telling audiences that there weren’t many “uplifting songs” in the set due to his anger against the government, empathising with the crowd saying “that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government.”
“You are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive.”
He says the band questioned whether to perform at the festival the night prior, choosing to perform to not let their fans down.
“If you want to invite me here to do a show, you [Malaysian Government] can fuck off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before, and it doesn’t feel good.”
The band’s Bass player, MacDonald, proceeded to walk towards Healy and shared a prolonged kiss on stage.
It wasn’t shortly after that officials stepped in to tell Healy that the band could not continue performing.
“Alright, we gotta’ go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later,” Healy announced leaving the stage.
This isn’t the bands first controversy with not abiding government laws. The band was kicked off stage following a similar incident in Dubai during their 2019 tour.
During the performance, Healy kissed a male fan in protest of similar laws by the United Arab Emirates against homosexuality.
Festival Intervened by Government
On Saturday morning, Good Vibes announced they would not continue with the festival and line up following the Malaysian Government stepping in following the incident.
Official statement from @goodvibesfest pic.twitter.com/XqsWegteWt
— Good Vibes Festival (@GoodVibesFest) July 22, 2023
Organisers for the festival, Future Sound Asia (FSA), denounced Healy’s actions saying he took them “by complete surprise.”
FSA says the festival needed to be halted due to Healy breaching the festival’s policies of not upholding the country’s laws and guidelines.
The Malaysian Communications minister, Fahmi Fadzil, justified the festival’s cancellation on Twitter saying, “There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws.”
Malaysia has a large Muslim population with the government choosing not to recognise queer relationships and legalising various anti-LGBT policies.
According to Ashley & Lyrics LGBTQ+ Travel Safety Index, Malaysia is considered a part of the 10 most dangerous places for queer people to visit. The country has banned pro-LGBT organisations and rhetoric, with homosexuality being punishable by imprisonment for up to 14 years.
