KUALA LUMPUR - British band The 1975 has allegedly been banned from performing in Malaysia after its frontman Matt Healy and bandmate Ross MacDonald kissed on-stage during their set at Good Vibes Festival 2023.
Before the apparent "show of protest”, Healy was expressing his disappointment about the country’s stand on the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans) community.
According to concertgoers, he told the crowd that the Malaysian government were "retards” on how they tell people who they can and cannot have sex with.
Videos clips of his speech have been making whirlwinds across the Internet and have already been picked up by foreign media.
"When we were booking shows, I made a f*****g mistake. Looking into it, I don’t see the point of inviting 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
"I’m sorry if that offends you and you are religious, and part of your beliefs, but your government is bunch of f*****g retards.
"I’m not in the mood anymore,” he said.
Healy was recently became a household name back in May after he was reported to be dating Taylor Swift, after her break-up with long time beau Joe Alwyn. News of Swift and Healy ending things came a few later.
Healy went on to rant about social media users on TikTok, stating that there was a discussion about the appropriateness of his finger placement and friend’s child in a video that had gone viral a few days back.
"We’re just casually accusing people of being a peadophile now?” he said to which he received some boos.
Healy went on to say that he had actually cancelled the show the day prior as he was upset with the government but after discussions, felt it was unfair to their fans.
"That’s not fair of you because you are not representative of your government. You are young people And I’m sure a lot of you are gay.
"We can’t let the kids down because they are not the government,” he said.
However, he said the band has pulled out of shows before in country’s that had ridiculous laws that told people what they can and could not do.
Healy started singing for a few minutes after the speech before kissing MacDonald, the band’s guitarist, on-stage.
He then pulled off stage before returning back to inform the crowd they had to stop the show.
"Alright we just got banned in Kuala Lumpur, we will see you later,” he gave a quick wave and walked off stage.
The Good Vibes Festival organisers in a short statement said the set was cut short due to non-compliance with local performance guidelines.
Based on its media release, Saturday and Sunday’s performance will go on as schedule.