The concert by the British band “The 1975” at the “Good Vibes” music festival in Kuala Lumpur ended in three acts: First, frontman Matty Healy grumbled on stage about the laws that punish homosexual relationships in Malaysia with up to 20 years in prison, then he kissed his bass player and shortly thereafter, while the band left the stage, he declared that they had just been banished from the city: “See you later”.
A little later, the organizers announced that not only the concert, but the festival, which is considered the Malaysian version of “Rock am Ring”, was canceled as a whole. It should have lasted until Sunday. Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil criticized the band’s behavior as “very disrespectful” and said he expected a full report from the organizers. As a result, the band also canceled other planned performances.
“The 1975 regrets to announce that their upcoming shows in Jakarta and Taipei will no longer go ahead as planned,” the group wrote in a statement. The decision was not taken lightly, “but unfortunately it is impossible to continue with the shows due to the current circumstances.”
In 2019, in Dubai, where homosexuality carries a 10-year prison sentence, Healy took a male fan on stage and then hugged and kissed him. After leaving the country, he released a statement in which he thanked his fans, but expressed the assumption that he would not be allowed to return because of his “behaviour”. But he wanted his fans to know “that I love you and that I would do everything the same way again if the opportunity came up again.”