Malaysia festival cancelled after Matty Healy slams anti-gay laws and kisses bandmate
A music festival in Malaysia has been cut short by the government after the lead singer of The 1975 slammed the country's anti-gay laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage.
British singer Matty Healey swore in remarks rounding on the government's stance against homosexuality, before kissing bass player Ross MacDonald at the Good Vibes Festival.
Footage was posted on social media and sparked a backlash in the country, where homosexuality is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and caning.
Healy said: “Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f****** furious and that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
He was then seen walking off stage before coming back on later and saying: “Alright, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later.”
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil criticised Matty Healy's conduct late on Friday, at the start of the festival as “very rude.”
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After meeting the festival organisers on Saturday, Fahmi said the festival, which was scheduled to go on this weekend, will be cancelled.
“There will be no compromise with any party that challenges, belittles or violates Malaysian laws," he said in a statement on Facebook.
The agency in charge of approving performances by foreign artists said it was disappointed with the band's conduct, calling it “an insult and disrespecting the laws of the country.”
It said the group will be blacklisted from performing in Malaysia.
In footage on social media, Healy said he was going to “pull out” of the show as he did not “see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with”.
However, he said he chose to appear at the festival because he did not want to disappoint fans.
A source, who is close to the band, said: “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and the community.”
It wasn't the first time that Healy used the stage to defend lesbian and gay rights.
In 2019, he kissed a male fan during a concert in the United Arab Emirates, which also outlaws homosexual acts, according to media reports.
That same year, Healy won ally of the year at the 2019 Diva Awards for supporting the LGBT+ community.
Footage posted previously has seen the frontman kiss a male crowd safety worker mid-performance while singing in Denmark and a male fan in Dubai.
In 2019, he wrote on Twitter: “Thank you Dubai you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”
The 1975 have been contacted for comment.
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