British band The 1975 pulls out of tour in Indonesia following on-stage rant in MY

British band, The 1975 has cancelled its concert in Indonesia and Taiwan following a debacle that unfolded at Malaysia’s Good Vibes festival this weekend. During the second day of the festival, the band’s lead singer, Matty Healy, spoke up against the Malaysian government’s anti-LGBTQ laws and kissed a man on stage, leading to the band’s ban in Malaysia.

The festival was subsequently cancelled by Malaysian authorities which causes significant upset in for festivalgoers, vendors and other bands set to play. 

The 1975 was all set to play at the 'We The Fest' music festival in Jakarta following the Good Vibes festival. Unfortunately, the band said, according to a post on We The Fest’s Instagram page, that it regrets to announce the cancellation of its shows in Jakarta and Taipei. “The band never take the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows,” it added.

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This came about after Healy went on a rant about Malaysia's conservative policies on stage at the Good Vibes festival.

He said that he made a mistake when booking shows, where he failed to account for what the country stood for. “I am furious, and that is not fair on you because you are not representative of your government. Because you are young people, and I am sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool,” he added as seen by A+M in a TikTok video taken by a fan at the festival.

Healy then proceeded to kiss his bandmate, Ross MacDonald, in direct defiance of Malaysia's rules. 

A statement from the Good Vibes’ festival’s Instagram page said, shortly after the incident, “We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule of Good Vibes Festival 2023, 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."

Malaysian minister of Communications and Digital, Fahmi Fadzil added on by stating in a tweet that Matty Healy's actions were 'very rude'. He stated in the same tweet that he had called the organisers of Good Vibes Festival following the band's actions to call the festival to a halt. 

Hours after his initial tweet, Minister Fahmi announced that he had ordered for the cancellation of the event’s line-up, resulting in its cancellation. He tweeted saying that the Unity Government will not allow for any compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws.

While the government is committed to supporting the development of creative industries and the freedom of expression, he went on to add, it is most important to not touch the sensitivities of the community, especially those that are against the manners and values of the local culture.

The band now faces a potential class action lawsuit from the organising committee of the Good Vibes festival. The festival, according to recent reports, has hired a group of lawyers to represent the vendors and local artists who were involved in the festival.

Malaysian lawyer, Mathew Thomas Philip took to Facebook to share his involvement in the case, stating, “all local artists whose income is affected by the cancellation of the Good Vibes festival because of the utter recklessness of the band should sue The 1975.” He went on to address the band directly, saying that it should have stuck to its scope of work under its contract.

“It is not your stage to tell us how to run our country. We have a democratic process. You are very silly,” he added.

In a draft of the lawsuit that Philip posted to Facebook, all four of The 1975’s band members were named defendants. The lawsuit seeks general damages, costs and other reliefs deemed fair by the court. 

Healy is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year, in January, he did a Nazi salute right after calling Irish people ‘simple’ at a concert in Dublin. Soon after, a podcast featuring the singer resurfaced where he talked about masturbating to porn of ‘brutalised’ women.

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