Matt Healy has again mocked Malaysia’s anti-gay officials after they banned his band from performing in their country.
Matt Healy has again mocked Malaysia’s anti-gay officials after they banned his band from performing in their country
His The 1975 group was barred from gigging in the nation, where same-sex activity is illegal, after he protested the laws by kissing his male bassist Ross MacDonald, 34, on stage during their show on Friday (21.07.23) at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur.
Matt, 34, joked on his Instagram Stories on Saturday (22.07.23) as news about the ban made global headlines: “Ok well why don’t you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years. Not as easy as it looks.”
The singer then posted a series of pictures showing his close friendship with Ross, as well as a since-deleted video of a speech from author Christopher Hitchens, in which the intellectual said: “Homosexuality is not just a form of sex – it’s a form of love.”
Other posts on Matt’s Stories in the wake of the Malaysia controversy featured a black hat superimposed on a map of the country along with a screenshot of his name trending on Twitter.
The Good Vibes Festival was scheduled to run the rest of the weekend but was abruptly axed by authorities following Matt’s kiss.
He told the crowd: “I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the f****** point… of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
“I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious… but your government are a bunch of f****** r******.
“I don’t care anymore. If you push, I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the f****** mood.”
He added about why the band had decided to turn up at the festival despite his anger, before kissing Ross: “I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool. I pulled this show yesterday, and we had a conversation.
“We said, ‘You know what? We can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government.’
“If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f*** off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before, and it doesn’t feel good.”
Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital said about cancelling the festival in the wake of Matt’s kiss: “The Ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws… we sincerely apologise to all our ticket holders, vendors, sponsors, and partners. We are aware of the time, energy and efforts you have put into making this festival a success, and we value your steadfast support.”
The rest of The 1975’s Asia Tour, which included stops at Jakarta, Indonesia’s We the Fest on Sunday and a show in Taipei, Taiwan, has also been pulled, and the group will next be on stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago.