Organizers of Malaysia's Good Vibes Festival have filed a breach of contract lawsuit against The 1975 after Matty Healy made a symbolic statement at the event last year, criticizing the government's strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Healy kissed bandmate Ross MacDonald in solidarity with the queer community, forcing the festival to end two days early, and organizers are now seeking $2.4 million in damages.
Many members of the local queer community did not embrace Healy's attempt to show solidarity with them. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, and can lead to very serious sentences (up to 20 years in prison), and many of them were the first to fear this backlash.
As reported by Varietythe 1975s were aware of the restrictions imposed by the festival, which included “kissing members of the audience or performing similar acts between members of the same band,” as per the Malaysia Central Agency for the Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes.
Other restrictions imposed by the festival included: touching, swearing, undressing, smoking or drinking alcohol on stage, and talking about political issues. Muse, for example, were forced to remove a song from their setlist to comply with these rules.
According to the complaint, Healy's on-stage act was a protest planned the day before. In addition, during the concert he also drank from a bottle of wine visible on stage.
After the incident, Healy says he was “briefly detained” by Malaysian authorities, before immediately leaving the country the next morning along with the rest of the band.
The 1975 have yet to comment following the complaint from Malaysia's Good Vibes Festival. Good vibes indeed…
