Matty Healy is standing up for what’s right!
The 1975 frontman and his band were all set to perform at Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia on Friday. The concert was set to take place in Kuala Lumpur, but was cut short when the 34-year-old suddenly gave a speech mid-show about how he almost canceled due to the country’s anti-LGBT laws.
Related: Matty Says He Got It ‘Wrong’ While Addressing Controversies
In a video captured by a fan that night, he can be heard expressing his regret about visiting the East Asian country:
“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. 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.”
Continuing, the musician said he didn’t care who he offended because he wasn’t “in the f**king mood” to deal with the country’s homophobia:
“I’m sorry if that offends you, and you’re religious… but your government are a bunch of f**king r*******. I don’t care anymore. If you push, I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the f**king mood.”
Taylor Swift‘s ex then held up a bottle of wine as he addressed the crowd directly, saying the band wasn’t going to be playing any upbeat tunes at the festival:
“Unfortunately, you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f**king furious. And that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government. You are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive.”
According to Matty, he even pulled out of doing the show on Thursday, before deciding to go through with it:
“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**k off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before, and it doesn’t feel good.”
And it seems like he took that ban comment very seriously, because right after his speech, his bassist Ross MacDonald walked over and locked lips with him in a passionate smooch. The kiss was in protest to Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws, which are strict against its people, and often leave the queer community subject to seemingly endless hate crimes. After the kiss, the About You singer said:
“Alright, we gotta go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later.”
Ch-ch-check out the video (below):
he did this to protest anti-lgbt laws in malaysia pic.twitter.com/UtSKjCNK7X
— emily (@emilyxinfinity) July 21, 2023
Wow!
It’s unclear if officials told them they were banned, but they knew the act itself was enough to give ’em the boot. And it’s not nearly Matty’s first time standing up for the LGBT community. A source close to the band told Variety on Friday, following the incident:
“Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.”
This act of protest is very similar to The 1975’s Dubai show in 2019, where he pulled a male fan onstage and kissed him in protest of the United Arab Emirates’ laws against being gay. Being openly queer in the UAE can land you a prison sentence of up to 15 years, which is just so, so heartbreaking.
At the time, the Robbers singer posted on Twitter:
“I don’t think we’ll be allowed back [in the UAE] due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”
The band has yet to publicly comment on their most recent stunt on Friday, and are still scheduled to perform in Jakarta, Indonesia at We The Fest — another country with very strict anti-gay laws. But fans are pleased with their controversial fav seemingly having one good take, as a Twitter user said:
“The 1975 went on stage at goodvibes festival Malaysia kissed each other to make a statement to the government and got banned idk about You guys but that’s ICONIC.”
What do U think about The 1975 getting banned for their protest, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF (below).
[Image via Genius/YouTube]