July 22, (THEWILL) – Good Vibes Festival has been stopped by the Malaysian government after Matty Healy, a front man of the British band, ‘The 1975’, kissed a male bandmate on stage and criticised the country’s anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) law.
Healy, was seen kissing bassist, Ross MacDonald, after criticising Malaysia’s stance against homosexuality in a profanity-laden speech to the festival audience.
“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the fucking point of inviting ‘The 1975’ to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with”, he stated.
The music festival taking place in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, started on Friday and would have ended on Sunday.
According to the Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil, in a Twitter post after meeting the organisers of the festival, said violating the country’s laws would not be tolerated.
“There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws,” Fadzil said.
The government committee that oversees filming and performance by foreigners, revealed that ‘The 1975’ have also been banned from performing in Malaysia.
Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Healy, later cut short the set, telling the crowd that they had to leave.
“All right, we’ve got to go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later”, he said.
The organisers of the festival, Future Sound Asia, apologised for the cancellation of the show following Healy’s controversial conduct and remarks.
He said ‘The 1975’s management had promised the band would obey performance guidelines.
“Regrettably, Healy did not honour these assurances,” the organisers said in a statement.
