Band member Matty Healy kisses band member Ross MacDonald during the 1975 band’s performance at the Good Vibes Music Festival in Malaysia on Friday. The remainder of the festival was subsequently canceled, and despite Healy’s intentions, some members of the Malaysian LGBTQ community feared the event would do more harm than good.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. As such, Healy said the band “made a mistake” by agreeing to play at the festival. “When we booked the show, I didn’t look into it,” he told the audience.
“I don’t fucking see the point of that, do I? I don’t think inviting 1975 to come to a country and tell us who we can have sex with,” he continued. “I’m sorry if this offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government… I don’t care anymore. If you push, I push back. I’m not in the fucking mood.”
“Unfortunately you don’t get a set of uplifting songs because I’m so fucking pissed off. It’s not fair to you because you don’t represent your government. Because you’re young and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive. Telling people what they can do with that and that is ridiculous, fucking ridiculous,” he added, pointing to his crotch. “If you want to ask me to come and perform here, then fuck off. I’ll take your money. You can ban me, but I’ve done it before and it doesn’t feel good.”
Shortly after Healy kissed MacDonald, the band was told the remaining shows were cancelled. On Saturday, festival organizers announced that the remaining Saturday and Sunday days of the festival, which featured The Stokes and The Kid Laroi, were also cancelled.
In a statement, organizers said, “Before the festival, 1975 management assured us that Healy and the band would abide by local performance guidelines. Regrettably, although we believed in Healy’s promises, Healy did not deliver on those guarantees. Healy’s behavior took us completely by surprise and we stopped the show as soon as possible after the incident.”
A representative for The 1975 defended Healy’s actions, saying in a statement, “Matty has long been a vocal voice for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wishes to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.”
While Healy’s actions were intended to show support for LGBTQ rights in Malaysia, some members of the country’s gay community feared its long-term impact.exist A Viral Twitter PostMalaysian Joe Lee expressed concern that the government would use Healy’s actions to justify targeting the LGBTQ community and criticized the band for letting Malaysian fans “deal with the aftermath”.
Another Twitter user claimed to be a queer Malaysian, explain’, “Marty and his bandmates are rich white guys who have nothing to lose by what they do. most? They lost their audience in Malaysia and are now earning a bit less. Their rhetoric and stunts have had no actual notable consequences. not any. “
“Malaysian queer people have been fighting for our rights, many of them entirely volunteered and fully funded by other local queer people. We have poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into ensuring a safe space for our peers, especially in such a hostile environment,” the Twitter user wrote. “This move by Marty actively jeopardizes all of these efforts by putting the spotlight on us. Conservatives outrank us here and they’ve done a thorough raid on Swatch because they have a collection they’re proud of. It all just tightens the laws against us and increases the focus on us.”
There are also concerns that Healey’s actions will affect Malaysia’s music industry. “Malaysia’s live concert industry (sic) is struggling to bounce back post-pandemic,” Joe Lee explained in his Twitter post. Meanwhile, Future Sound Asia, organizers of the Good Vibes Festival, expressed concern that the incident would “undermine the confidence of music promoters and various stakeholders in the national live entertainment industry, and threaten the stability of our thriving live arts scene.”
Banned from performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1975 due to Matty Healy and bandmate Ross MacDonald kissing on stage at the Good Vibes Festival.
Before the kiss, Healy gave a speech expressing his dismay at the state’s discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community. pic.twitter.com/XcHuPHiYr5
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 21, 2023
OK This is about the whole Good Vibes Festival issue.
This is entirely my personal opinion, based on information I’ve cobbled together and official sources.
— ᴊᴏᴇ ʟᴇᴇ (@iamjoelee) July 22, 2023
I am a queer Malaysian. I don’t know anything about 1975 and Matty Healy, so here are my unbiased thoughts on the whole thing that happened with GVF (one thread) pic.twitter.com/Wick5SbGUd
— Fish (@MercuryJax) July 21, 2023