The 1975 have cancelled two upcoming gigs in Asia, after Malaysian officials banned them from performing in the country.
The ban was put in place after the band’s front man Matty Healy slammed the country’s anti-LGBT laws in a passionate speech at the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
The singer then kissed the band’s bassist Ross MacDonald on stage.
The 1975 has been banned from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after Matty Healy and bandmate Ross MacDonald kissed on-stage during their set at Good Vibes Festival.
Before the kiss, Healy gave a speech on his disappointment in the country’s discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community. pic.twitter.com/XcHuPHiYr5
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 21, 2023
A statement from the band was posted on the We The Fest Instagram page on Sunday, and it read: “The 1975 regret to announce that their forthcoming shows in Jakarta and Taipei will no longer be going ahead as planned.
“The band never take the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately due to the current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the current shows.”
“Thank you for your understand and continued support.”
Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia, and members of the LGBT+ community face severe discrimination and punishment in the country.
The 1975’s performance was cut short on Friday, and the Malaysian government banned the popular group from ever performing in the country again.
In a passionate speech at the festival, Matty said that he had considered pulling out of the show as he did not “see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”
He continued: “Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f***ing furious and that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
In the aftermath of the incident, Malaysian communications minister Fahmi Fadzil tweeted: “I have called the organisers of Good Vibes Festival 2023… following the very rude actions and statements displayed by UK artist ‘The 1975’ in Sepang last night.”
“There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws.”
