The 1975 to pay over RM12.3m in damages to GVF organisers or risk UK lawsuit

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British band, The 1975 has been served a seven-day notice by Future Sound Asia (FSA), the organisers behind Good Vibes Festival 2023 (GVF 2023) to pay over RM12.3 million in damages over a recent controversy at the event, according to a statement from FSA.

FSA told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that a Letter of Claim had been sent to the band on 7 August 2023 requiring The 1975 to pay a sum of £2,099,154.54 (RM12.3 million) within seven days as well as admit their liability towards the cancellation of GVF 2023.

Don't miss: British band The 1975 pulls out of tour in Indonesia following on-stage rant in MY

"FSA would like to reiterate their strong disapproval of the Band’s behaviour during their performance at GVF2023," said the statement.

"In particular, lead singer Matthew Timothy Healy's use of abusive language, equipment damage, and indecent stage behaviour not only flagrantly breached local guidelines and Malaysian laws but also tarnished the reputation of the 10-year-old festival," the statement continued.

The claim also takes into account the provisions of the English Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocol which are part of English Civil Procedure Rules. This means that should The 1975 fail to meet the demands of FSA, the band will face a legal suit in the United Kingdom.

FSA has said that The 1975's actions had contravened an internal agreement with FSA which led to significant financial losses for the organiser and affected the livelihood of many local artists and businesses that depended on the festival's success.

The lawsuit concerns the actions of The 1975’s lead singer Matty Healy who went on an anti-government rant and kissed his male bandmate on stage in direct protest against Malaysia’s laws against homosexuality. Following Healy’s actions, the GVF 2023 came to an abrupt halt and the festival was cancelled.

Malaysian lawyer, Mathew Thomas Philip took to Facebook to share his involvement in the case, stating that “all local artists whose income [had been] affected by the cancellation of the Good Vibes festival because of the utter recklessness of the band should sue The 1975.”

The cancellation of GVF 2023 also led to the defamation of communication and digital minister, Fahmi Fadzil who condemned the spread of defamatory posters on social media alleging that the minister orchestrated a cyber army to generate hate towards the Malaysian Islamic Party for cancelling the event.

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