Matty Healy has hit out at hard-line Malaysian officials who banned him from performing in the country after kissing his male bandmate on stage to protest their anti-LGBT laws.
Healy, who recently made headlines for his whirlwind romance with Taylor Swift, slammed Malaysia’s anti-gay laws before kissing bassist Ross McDonald at the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
And today the 1975 frontman, 34, posted a series of throwback snaps with bassist Macdonald hinting at a very close relationship between the two and poking fun at the ban.
The outspoken singer responded to the ban and festival cancellation by writing: ‘Okay why don’t you try and make it with Ross for 20 years. It’s not as easy as it looks.’
He also shared a video of a speech by author and speaker Christopher Hitchens amid the AIDS crisis, in which he said: ‘Homosexuality is not just a form of sex – it’s a form of love.’
Matty Healy has hit out at hard-line Malaysian officials who banned him from performing in the country by posting a series of photos with bandmate Ross MacDonald, who controversially kissed on stage on Friday.
Healy appeared to poke fun at the authorities by hinting at his very close relationship with his bandmate
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and laws criminalizing sodomy are punishable by imprisonment. LGBTQ people in the country also face regular discrimination by authorities, and rights groups have warned of growing intolerance.
Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and laws criminalizing sodomy are punishable by imprisonment.
LGBTQ people in the country also face regular discrimination by authorities, and rights groups have warned of growing intolerance.
In addition, Muslims can be convicted in court under Sharia law with the potential for the judicially sanctioned death penalty for homosexuality.
The country has no LGBT rights and no laws that protect the community against discrimination and hate crimes.
Talk therapy is not only practiced regularly, but promoted by high-profile figures.
It was ranked the second worst country in the world for transgender rights in 2023, according to the Global Trans Rights Index.
In the clip posted by Healy, Hitchens said: ‘The brothers and sisters in our society who have succumbed to this terrible disease did not die because of sex or their sexuality.
‘Remember, homosexuality is not just a form of sex – it’s a form of love.
‘If you can’t live with it, I’ll think you’re poor.’
Matty once again appeared to edit a picture of his classic ‘Men in Black’ style hat on a map of Malaysia to defy the authorities’ decision.
He then posted a screenshot of his name trending on Twitter in Mad World by Tears for Fears.
1975 also canceled two upcoming tour dates in Asia.
The English pop-rock group announced that performances at We The Fest in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday and Taipei Music Center in Taiwan on Tuesday will not go ahead before their American tour begins next month.
In her speech before the controversial and emotional kiss, Healy said: ‘I don’t see the point in inviting 1975 into a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.’
He added: ‘I made a mistake. When we were booking the show, I wasn’t looking at it.’
‘Unfortunately you don’t get a set of a lot of uplifting songs because I’m angry and it’s not fair to you, because you’re not representative of your government because you’re young, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.’
He later ended the set abruptly, saying: ‘Okay, we’ve got to go. We have been banned from Kuala Lumpur.’
A source close to the band told MailOnline yesterday: ‘Matty has a long record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.’
He also shared a video of a speech by author and speaker Christopher Hitchens amid the AIDS crisis, in which he said: ‘Homosexuality is not just a form of sex – it’s a form of love.’
Malaysia canceled a music festival on Saturday after The 1975 frontman Matty Healy kissed his bandmate Ross McDonald live on stage.
Matty Healy slams Malaysia’s anti-gay laws in profanity-laced speech before controversial kiss
The outspoken singer reacted to the ban and festival cancellation
Matty was seen defying Malaysian authorities in a series of Instagram stories, including editing his hat on a map of Malaysia and trending his name on Twitter.
Healy posted several intimate and tender photos with her bandmates, again showing her opposition to the Malaysian law
He shared another selfie with bandmate MacDonald on Sunday, showing no signs of backing down amid a frosty response.
1975 was formed in 2002 and consists of Healy, bassist MacDonald, lead guitarist Adam Hahn and drummer George Daniel.
1975, which consisted of Healy, bassist McDonald, lead guitarist Adam Hahn and drummer George Daniel, was banned from performing in Malaysia, by a government committee that oversees performances from foreigners.
The on-stage protest is not the first for Healy, who kissed a male fan at a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, which also has anti-LGBTQ laws.
Promising swift action early Saturday, Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmy Fadzil posted a news story about the kiss, calling it a ‘very rude act’.
He later held a meeting with the organizers and ordered the ‘immediate cancellation’ of the three-day festival.
“Never touch communal sensitivities, especially those against local culture’s etiquette and values,” he said in a subsequent tweet.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the festival confirmed that the cancellation was ordered by the Ministry of Communications ‘due to the controversial behavior and comments of UK artist Matty Healy’.
The statement added, ‘The ministry reiterates its firm stance against any party that challenges, mocks or violates Malaysian law.’
Meanwhile Matty’s mum, Loose Women star Denise Welch proudly tweeted: ‘He’s my son,’ with a rainbow emoji in response to the now-viral kiss video.
Good Vibes Festival issued a statement after the kissing storm, announcing the cancellation of the rest of the event
Meanwhile Matty’s mum, Loose Women star Denise Welch, proudly tweeted: ‘He’s my son,’ alongside a rainbow emoji in response to the now-viral kiss video.
Fans took to Twitter to express their concern that the kiss was just an example of ‘performative activism’
Matty Healy recently embarked on a whirlwind romance with Taylor Swift following her split from British actor Joe Alwyn (pictured together in May).
Friday’s incident sparked an uproar on social media, including some members of the LGBT community, who accused Healy of ‘performative activism’ and said her move would further stigmatize and discriminate against the community.
Malaysian drag queen and performer Carmen Rose said on Twitter, ‘Matt Healy has undoubtedly made it worse for Malaysians living here and they will suffer the consequences as we all know our politicians are going to use this to further their agenda.’
Another Twitter user commented: ‘This is crazy ’cause he can just go back to the US or the UK and live comfortably, but the local queer community has to suffer potential backlash now.’
A third said: ‘He has done so much harm and danger to the community that he calls “care”. This statement helped no one but himself and his image.
‘You are blinded by this white savior activist activism. Use your brain. Respect your fans. We didn’t deserve it.’
But others rushed to his defense, instead criticizing the Malaysian law for being so strict in the first place.
Luigi Grossu said: ‘It’s not fair to blame him for canceling the festival. Why not blame the homophobic government of Malaysia? Make sure you call the right team for once and put your personal problems aside.’
The Good Vibes festival was due to run through the weekend, with US band The Strokes headlining on Sunday and The Kid LaRoe also performing.
In full: Matty Healy’s speech at The Good Vibes festival before the controversial kiss
‘I made a mistake when we were booking the show, I wasn’t looking at it. I don’t see the f***ing point, do you? I don’t see the point of inviting 1975 to a country and then telling them who we can have sex with.
‘And I’m sorry if it offends you and you’re religious, but your government is a bunch of shit […] And I don’t care anymore. If you push, I will back down. I am not in a cheerful mood. I’m not in the mood anymore.
‘I saw a TikTok the other day where I took a picture of a child that I love who is my child’s friend. And I put them down. And there was a TikTok conversation about whether my finger placement was appropriate.
‘So, we’re just blatantly accusing people of being pedophiles now, are we? For entertainment? Is it what we’re doing? No? Well it looks like f**ing it. I’m not having a go at you, it’s people filming it. It looks like f**ing it. You don’t casually imply that s***.
‘I’m not in the mood anymore. Unfortunately you don’t get a set of many uplifting songs because I’m angry. And it is not fair to you, because you are not the representative of your government.
‘Cause you’re young, and I’m sure many of you are gay and progressive and cool. So I pulled the show yesterday. 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”.
‘But I’ve done it before. I’ve been to a country where it’s being done, I don’t know what it is – ridiculous, it’s ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that.
‘And if you want to invite me to do a show here, you can stop. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done it before and it doesn’t feel good. And I’m off.’
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