Matty Healy hit with $2.7 million bill from Malaysian music festival over same-sex kiss
The 1975 are facing a legal threat after an on-stage same-sex kiss prompted a government-mandated shutdown of a music festival
Matty Healy and his band The 1975 find themselves staring down a $2.7 million bill this week—or, more accurately, 12.3 million ringgit, accused losses from Future Sound Asia’s Malaysian Good Vibes Festival. That, you may recall, is the music festival Healy shut down pretty much single-tonguedly a few weeks back, when—upon being reminded of Malaysia’s restrictive and oppressive legal strictures on homosexuality—he gave a long rant to his audience, before kissing bandmate Ross MacDonald on the lips. This led, in turn, to the band’s headlining set being abruptly shut down—and then, the next day, organizers announcing that the following days of the festival would also be shuttered, on government demand. (Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, with sentences that can include up to 20 years of imprisonment, as well as caning.)
Now, Future Sound Asia is going after The 1975, with ABC News reporting that the organizers have sent a letter declaring a breach of contract to the band, and demanding compensation for the shut-down festival. (Organizers have said they intend to refund festival-goers for their tickets.) Per attorney David Dinesh Mathew, the letter stated that the band had given a pledge to “adhere to all local guidelines and regulations” ahead of the show, and accused them of “use of abusive language, equipment damage, and indecent stage behaviour.”
In his comments to the audience during the show, Healy told the crowd he’d been unaware of Malaysia’s legal attitudes toward homosexuality when he’d first agreed to perform at the festival. As ABC News noted, it’s also not the first time he’s performed this kind of protest on stage; in 2019, he kissed a male fan on stage during a show in the United Arab Emirates, where homosexuality is also illegal.
The incident in Malaysia occurred in Kuala Lumpur on July 21. So far, Healy and The 1975—who canceled several legs of an Asian tour in the aftermath of the incident, but who appeared at Lollapalooza this month—haven’t publicly commented on either the festival, or this new demand for repayment.