Sanjana B, Pune
A music festival in Malaysia is cancelled after the lead of ‘The 1975’ violates the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws by kissing a male bandmate on stage. Matty Healy, the lead, was ordered off stage by authorities after he kissed the band’s bass player Ross MacDonald.
The British alternative rock band was headlining the Good Vibes Festival in the capital Kuala Lumpur on July 21 when the incident happened. Following this controversy, the festival organisers cancelled the remaining schedule for the festival on Saturday.
Reacting to this incident, Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital initiated the cancellation of the festival and called it a “very disrespectful act”. Addressing the violation of rules, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said, “There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages, and violates Malaysian laws”. In Malaysia, Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The band is now indefinitely blacklisted from performing in the country.
In a viral video of the incident, singer Healy can be seen telling the crowd the band’s decision to play in Malaysia was a “mistake”.
“I don’t see the point of inviting ‘The 1975’ to a country and telling us who we can have sex with”. Adding that he was sure a lot of people in the crowd were young, gay, and progressive, the band’s frontman said, “Unfortunately you don’t get a set of uplifting songs because I’m furious. And that’s not fair on you, because you don’t represent your government”.
Matty Healy of The 1975 fame has violated laws in anti-LGBTQ countries like Dubai as a sign of protest. In a 2019 concert, he shared a kiss with a male fan on stage. The punishment for acts of homosexuality in the United Arab Emirates is 10 years.