Matt Healy speaks out after The 1975 gets 'banned' from Malaysia because of on-stage same-sex kiss
Stewart Perrie
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/suejean Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Matt Healy has poked fun at Malaysia after The 1975 were banned from performing in the country due to a same-sex kiss.
The English band was rocking out at the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur when the frontman went on a bit of a rant.
He told the crowd: “I don’t see the f**king point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
“Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f**king furious.
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“And that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government.
"Because you’re young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
He then walked over to the band's bassist, Ross MacDonald, and kissed him on the mouth.
It was a massive middle finger to the country's views on the LGBTQIA+ community and it didn't take long for repercussions to set in.
The band walked off stage about 30 minutes after that stunt and Healy yelled: "All right, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later.”
Healy has now taken to Instagram to issue a statement on the matter.
He shared a bunch of pictures of himself and MacDonald over the years and their bromance.
The frontman wrote: "Ok well why don't you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years. Not as easy as it looks."
He also shared a speech by author Christopher Hitchens that was made during the AIDS crisis, where he said: "The brothers and sister of our society who have succumbed to that appalling disease did not die of sex or of their sexuality.
"Remember, homosexuality is not just a form of sex - it's a form of love.
"If you can't live with it, I will think you're the poorer."
The rest of the Good Vibes festival was cancelled following Healy's stunt on stage.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital issued an 'immediate cancellation directive' because of its 'unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule or contravene Malaysian laws'.
The 1975 decided to cancel two upcoming shows.
They were scheduled to play in Jakarta at the We the Fest musical festival as well as in Taipei.
“The band never takes 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," the band said in a statement.
They didn't give further clarification on the reason behind the move.