A day after the lead singer of the British pop rock band The 1975 kissed a male bandmate onstage and denounced the nation’s anti-LGBT policies, the Malaysian government on Saturday cancelled a music festival in the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
According to a government group that monitors foreigners’ filming and performances, The 1975 have also been forbidden from performing in Malaysia.
In Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, homosexuality is illegal. Lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender rights organizations have warned of a rise in hostility toward these communities.
Healy was captured on camera hugging bassist Ross MacDonald late on Friday after criticizing Malaysia’s anti-homosexuality laws in a profanity-filled address to the festival crowd.
“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it,” he said. “I don’t see the fucking point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”
Healy later cut short the set, telling the crowd: “All right, we’ve got to go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later.”
A comment from the group could not be obtained right away. Healy posted the festival’s cancellation notice to her Instagram story along with the message, “Ok well why don’t you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years.” It appeared that Healy was making fun of the incident. It’s harder than it seems.
At a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, which similarly forbids homosexual conduct, Healy received criticism for kissing a male fan, according to media reports.
Healy’s “controversial conduct and remarks” led to the show’s cancellation, which festival organizer Future Sound Asia (FSA) apologized for. The band’s management was alleged to have made a commitment to upholding performance regulations.
It released a statement saying, “Unfortunately, Healy did not honor these assurances.”
Over the course of the three-day weekend, 43 performances by national and international artists were to be included at the festival. The 1975 were the featured performer on Friday, while The Kid Laroi from Australia and The Strokes from the United States were the featured performers on Saturday and Sunday. Both days’ performances were canceled.
[sourcelink link=”https://www.reuters.com/world/rock-band-1975s-set-stopped-malaysia-after-onstage-kiss-2023-07-22/”]
