Matty Healy speaks out at concert pledging to 'do better' after series of controversial comments
Topics: Celebrity
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Featured Image Credit: Joseph Okpako/WireImage / X/@THR
Topics: Celebrity
Matty Healy has pledged to 'do better moving forward' as he apologizes for his past controversial comments.
The 1975 frontman took some time out from their concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday (2 October) to issue an apology for his previous behavior.
The singer first sparked controversy when he appeared on an episode of The Adam Friedland Show earlier this year and joined in on derogatory comments made about Ice Spice.
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In the podcast, Healy revealed he once messaged Ice Spice on social media, which then saw further comments made by Friedland and Mullen as they dubbed her an 'Inuit Spice Girls'.
On the same podcast, he also claimed that he watched 'Ghetto Gaggers', which are pornographic videos showing women of color being submissive to white men - which led many to accuse the singer of 'fetishizing' Black women.
Healy was slammed publicly for his comments in the episode, which has since been taken down, and the singer issued a public apology.
His comments were also called out by celebrities such as Azealia Banks and Rina Sawayama.
However, Healy further addressed his comments last night.
He told the crowd that he had 'performed exaggerated versions' of himself on 'other stages be in print or in one podcast… in an often misguided attempt to fulfill the kind of character role of the 21st-century rock star'.
“Because some of my actions have hurt some people, I apologize to those people, and I pledge to do better moving forward,” he told the audience.
“You see, as an artist, I want to create an environment for myself to perform where not everything that I do is taken literally.”
Healy continued: “Sometimes playing pretend is the only way you can truly find out who you are, and you could probably also say that men would rather do offensive impressions for attention than go to therapy.”
In September, Ice Spice addressed the comments made about her in the podcast - admitting the comments left her 'confused.'
She told Variety: "When I had heard that little podcast or whatever, I was so confused. Because I heard ‘chubby Chinese lady’ or some s**t like that, and I’m like, ‘Huh? What does that even mean?’
"First of all, I’m thick. What do you mean Chinese? What? But then they apologized or whatever. And the whole time, I didn’t really care.
"But that’s funny because I saw him at the Jean Paul Gaultier party a couple days ago, and he was like, ‘Hey, you OK?’ and I’m like, ‘Of course.’ He apologized to me a bunch of times. We’re good."
But this isn't the first time Healy has addressed his past behaviour.
During a show at London's Finsbury Park in July, he said: “I was always trying stuff. And some stuff I got right and some stuff I got wrong.
“What I mean is that I really am only doing this because I want to make you guys laugh and feel good.
"That’s what my favorite art does and that’s what I’m trying to do. I get a bit excited.”