The singer gave a long speech about the homophobic government in Malaysia and then kissed his bass player. Fans are divided.
The 1975’s set at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival on July 22 was ended early after singer Matty Healy criticized the country’s government, specifically its anti-LGTBQ laws, and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald on stage.
Healy said on stage he “made a mistake” in agreeing to play at the festival with the band before he knew the situation in the country. “I don’t see the point of inviting The 1975 into the country and then trying to tell us who we can have sex with,” Healy said in his speech. He continued, “Sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your goddamn government… I don’t care anymore. If you push, I push back. I’m not in the damn mood.”
Healy elaborated, “Unfortunately you don’t get a set with a lot of uplifting songs because I’m freaking angry. And that’s not fair to you because you don’t represent your government. Because you are young and I’m sure many of you are queer and progressive. […] Ridiculous. Damn ridiculous telling people what they can do with this and with this.” The singer pointed to his crotch and mouth.
The band’s gig was called off shortly after Statement and Kiss, and the remaining days of the event, which was supposed to be headlining The Kid Laroi and The Strokes, were cancelled. The 1975 then canceled their remaining shows in Indonesia and Taiwan.
Matty Healy’s speech at the festival:
Healy’s frustration didn’t abate even after the show’s cancellation. On his Instagram story, he shared the official post from the Good Vibes Festival, which cited The 1975 as the reason for the festival’s cancellation, and captioned it, “Try not to kiss Ross for twenty years.” This was followed by several stories featuring pictures of Healy and his bass player over the years.
In Malaysia, homosexuality is strictly forbidden by law and can be punished with up to 20 years in prison. Although many of the singer’s statements were applauded by the crowd, the band has been heavily criticized on Twitter. Many are concerned that the consequences will now have to be borne by the Malaysian fans.
One user specifically shared the concern that the government could use this incident to further target the LGBTQ community: “[Malaysische Queers] investing a lot of blood, sweat and tears to ensure our people have a safe place, especially in such a hostile environment. Matty Healy’s doing something like this actively jeopardizes our efforts by putting us squarely in the spotlight. The Conservatives outrank us and literally raided Swatch for having a Pride collection. All it does is tighten the laws against us and get more eyes on us.”
It’s not uncommon for Healy to kiss male fans or even members of security on stage. Nor is it the first time he has come under criticism for such activities in a conservative country. At a concert in Dubai in 2019, a rainbow flag was displayed on the stage background during the song “Loving Someone” (which also criticizes homophobia). He then kissed a male fan in the crowd. At the time, he was particularly criticized for putting the fan in danger. In 2020, the singer expressed regret for this incident in an interview and shared that he had felt “quite irresponsible”.
By July 2023, Healy had already come under fire for racist and sexist comments, particularly from indie artist Rina Sawayama, who spoke out against him multiple times on stage. The Nazi salute he showed at a performance of “Love It If We Made It” in January 2023 also gave him a lot of negative media attention.