At a festival in Malaysia, Matty Healy, singer of the band The 1975, kissed his bassist on stage. It was a kiss of protest: Now he faces a severe punishment – and several lawsuits.
It was a kiss in protest: The frontman of the indie rock band The 1975, Matty Healy, kissed his bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur in July 2023. Now the organizer is suing the musicians for 1.9 million pounds (around 2.2 million euros) in damages for breach of contract.
In Malaysia, homosexual acts are illegal and can be punished with twenty years in prison. This made Healy very angry at the time: “I don’t see the point in inviting The 1975 to a country where we are told who we can have sex with,” Healy said on stage. “Unfortunately, you won’t get a set with lots of uplifting songs because I’m fucking angry.”
The singer continued his speech on stage: “This is not fair to you. Because you are not representative of your government. You are young people, and I am sure that many of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
After the kiss, the entire festival was cancelled
He then kissed his bassist and their gig was cancelled shortly afterwards. “We have just been banned from Kuala Lumpur,” Healy explained his departure. The festival was stopped one day later. The organisers are now demanding compensation of £1.9 million in the British High Court for the breach of performance regulations.
A festival official, Wan Alman, told global media in 2023 that The 1975 management had assured him that the band would abide by the conservative country’s regulations and the event’s guidelines. In addition, the festival does not allow talking about politics and religion on stage, swearing, smoking or drinking alcohol.
Criticism from all sides of Matty Healy’s performance
Healy, who also became known as the ex-boyfriend of exceptional artist Taylor Swift, apparently believed he was doing the right thing. However, his protest performance was also criticized by members of the country’s LGBT community. The reason: his provocative activism made their lives more difficult. Healy then publicly justified himself: the kiss was “part of the 1975 stage show that had been performed many times before.”
In addition, the band is being sued in a separate class action lawsuit by several musicians and exhibitors. They want compensation for their loss of earnings after the second and third days of the festival were cancelled.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
