- Matty Healy’s criticism of Malaysia’s stance on LGBTQ+ and kiss with bassist MacDonald has caused ‘The 1975’s’ ban in Malaysia.
- Future Sound Asia (FSA) claims breach of contract, seeks £2M in damages for festival cancellation due to Healy’s alleged abusive behaviour and its impact on local artists and businesses.
During the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, Matty Healy, band member of The 1975, delivered a speech regarding homosexuality. While performing on stage, Healy voiced his criticism of the LGBTQ+ stance taken by the Malaysian government and said that the band had made an error in their choice to perform in the country.
“I made a mistake,” Healy said to the crowd.” “When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the f***ing point, right. I do not see the point of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”
He then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald in front of the audience. Consequently, The 1975 faced a ban on performing in Malaysia.
Future Sound Asia (FSA) alleges that the group violated their contract and claims to have received a “pre-show written assurance” that their performance would align with local regulations.
The situation escalated as the three-day festival they were part of was canceled, with FSA explicitly attributing this to Healy’s “abusive language, equipment damage, and inappropriate on-stage behavior.” FSA is now seeking £2,099,154.54 in damages.
FSA’s legal representative, David Mathew, added, “Their actions have had a ripple effect on local artists and small businesses that depended on the festival for their creative opportunities and livelihoods. In light of this, Future Sound Asia aims to move forward in a manner that offers some resolution to the impacted Malaysian community.”
FSA had previously indicated its readiness to initiate legal proceedings in English courts, citing the harm caused to the festival’s 10-year reputation.
As a consequence, The 1975 are now barred from Kuala Lumpur and have been put on a blacklist preventing them from performing in the country. Furthermore, their scheduled tour dates in Indonesia and Taiwan were subsequently cancelled.
