- Organizers for the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia are seeking compensation from The 1975.
- Frontman Matty Healy kissed his male bandmate onstage to protest the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws.
- The government subsequently shut down the festival, prompting organizers to request $2.7M in damages.
The organizer of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival is seeking more than $2 million from The 1975 after frontman Matty Healy kissed his male bandmate onstage, prompting the local government to cancel the three-day event.
Outlets including Variety and Rolling Stone reported that Future Sound Asia, the festival’s organizers, sent The 1975 a letter of claim Tuesday addressing a “breach of contract” and requesting compensation for losses from the canceled event.
“They entered into a binding contract with Future Sound Asia to perform and the position of Future Sound Asia, among others, is that this contractual obligation was breached,” David Matthew an attorney for Future Sound Asia told Variety in a statement. “Further, Mr. Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr. Healy and The 1975’s live performance ‘shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations’ during their set in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the assurance was ignored.”
The attorney added that The 1975’s actions “had repercussions on local artists and small businesses, who relied on the festival for creative opportunities and their livelihoods.”
Representatives for Future Sound Asia and The 1975 did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, made outside normal working hours.
Good Vibes Festival announced in February that The 1975 would headline the festival alongside The Strokes and Kid Laroi. Five months later, the UK-based band arrived for their set, where Healy derided the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws.
“I made a mistake when we were booking shows. I wasn’t looking into it,” Healy said. “I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”
He later shared a kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald. Footage of the kiss circulated on social media, drawing mixed reactions from fans who supported the band’s protest and others who were upset over the canceled festival.
After the kiss, the official Good Vibes Festival’s Instagram account shared a statement informing attendees that the event was canceled.
“We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule of Good Vibes Festival 2023 (GVF 2023), planned for today and tomorrow has been canceled following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artists Matty Healy from the band The 1975.”
The statement added that Malaysia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital ordered the cancellation, noting its “unwavering stance against parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.”
The Minister of Communications and Digital, Fahmi Fadzil, called Healy’s actions “barbaric” in a translated tweet. The 1975 was subsequently banned from performing in Malaysia.
