A music festival in Malaysia has been cancelled in its entirety after Matty Healy used The 1975’s slot to speak out against the country’s anti-LGBT laws.
Matty said The 1975 had been ‘banned’ from Kuala Lumpur as their set was cut short following an on-stage kiss between the two bandmates – and now the entire festival has been cut short.
The group, made up of frontman Matty, along with bassist Ross MacDonald, drummer George Daniel and guitar Adam Hann, were performing at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival on Thursday when the set was cut, finishing thirty minutes early.
Matty used his time on the stage to vehemently speak out against the country’s stance on LGBTQ+rights, telling crowds he was ‘f***ing furious’.
In videos circulating on social media, Matty says he had considered pulling the show but said it wouldn’t be fair on the fans, ‘because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.’
He said it was ‘f***ing ridiculous to tell people what they can’t do… 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.’
Matty then turned and passionately kissed bandmate Ross – for quite a while – before the set was forced to finish half an hour early.
He told the audience before leaving the stage: ‘We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur.’
His mum, Loose Women’s Denise Welch, shared a video of the moment and wrote proudly: ‘He’s my son,’ along with a rainbow flag emoji.
The festival had been due to continue for two more days, however organisers have now issued a statement announcing the government had told the festival to shut down.
They wrote: ‘We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule… planned for today and tomorrow has been cancelled following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy from the band The 1975.
‘This decision adheres to the immediate cancellation directive issued at 1.20pm, 22 July 2023, by the Ministry of Communications and Digital.
‘The Ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.’
They apologised to anyone who had bought tickets, as well as to other vendors, sponsors and partners who had been involved in setting up the festival, and said refunds for ticketholders were on the way.
There are no LGBT rights in Malaysia. Homosexuality is punishable by fines, caning and prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Earlier this month, Malaysian authorities seized Swatch’s rainbow-coloured watches in raids around the country, including in Kuala Lumpur.
Matty has long been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, previously defying Dubai’s anti-gay laws by kissing a male fan during a show.
He said he was threatened with arrest for the act at the time, with homosexuality illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison in the country.
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