Matty Healy Says The 1975 Is Banned From Kuala Lumpur After Onstage Kiss
The 1975 took the stage at Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia on Friday (July 21), but the set came to an abrupt end after the band’s frontman Matty Healy spoke out against the country’s stances on LGBTQ+ rights.
“I’m f–ing furious, and that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government,” the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is heard telling the crowd in videos circulating social media. “Because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool. So, I pulled the show yesterday, I pulled the show yesterday, and we had a conversation and we said, ‘You know what, we can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government.’ But, I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to a country where it’s — I don’t know what it f—ing is. Ridiculous. F—ing ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that and that. If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f— off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m f—ed off.”
After the rant, Healy challenged the anti-LGBTQ+ laws even further, kissing bandmate Ross MacDonald for an extended period of time. The set then ended half an hour early, with Healy telling the audience before leaving the stage: “Alright, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later.”
A source tells Billboard, “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.” Back in 2019, the musician broke an anti-LGBTQ law in United Arab Emirates by going into the crowd during their show in Dubai and kissing a male concertgoer.
While there hasn’t been an official statement confirming The 1975’s band from Malaysia, Billboard has reached out to reps from the festival for more information.
According to Outright International, same-sex relationships are illegal in Malaysia, and in states imposing Islamic Sharia law, gender non-conformity is also criminalized. “Due to these laws, LGBTIQ Malaysians are subject to arbitrary arrests, assault, extortion and privacy violations by police and public officials,” according to the site.
See Healy’s speech as well as the kiss and end of the set via social media below.
Rania Aniftos
Billboard
