Fans aren’t impressed with Matt Healy’s 1975 anti-LGBTQIA+ protest in Malaysia

The government, under which homosexual acts are illegal, called Healy’s behavior “extremely rude”. The Independent, which include the kiss as well as criticism of the government’s anti-LGBTQIA+ laws. The government closed the last two days of the festival.

During her performance, Healy said he “made a mistake” in even agreeing to perform at the festival, per meeting. “When we booked shows, I didn’t pay attention to that,” he told the crowd. “I see no point in inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

“I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your damn government,” he continued. “I do not care. If you push, I’ll push back. I’m not in a damn mood.”

He even said that the band considered canceling their gig but ultimately decided to give credit for the gig because they didn’t want to disappoint their fans. In Malaysia, homosexuality is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

“Unfortunately you don’t get a lot of uplifting songs because I’m freaking angry,” Healy added The AV Club. “And that’s not fair to you because you’re not representative of your government. Because you are young people and I am sure many of you are gay and progressive.”

“It’s ridiculous, bloody ridiculous, telling people what they can do with this and that,” he continued. “If you want to invite me over here to do a show, you can walk away. i take your money You can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good.”

The band’s set closed shortly after, and Healy returned to the stage TMZto announce that they have been banned from Kuala Lampur and therefore unable to continue the show.

In a statement released on Friday evening, organizers said: “We deeply regret to announce that the remainder of the Good Vibes Festival 2023 schedule scheduled for today and tomorrow has been canceled due to the controversial behavior and comments by British artist Matty Healy of the band The 1975.”

As noted by The Huffington Postand mentioned by Healy in his rant, this isn’t the first time the singer has protested anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in this way. During a show in the United Arab Emirates, he kissed a male fan to protest the government’s stance there.

Following the Malaysia incident, the band canceled unexpectedly scheduled stops in Taipei, Taiwan and at the We the Fest event in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the planned shows,” the band said in a statement posted to the We the Fest Instagram page after the Kuala Lampur incident.

Indonesia’s laws are not as strict as Malaysia’s, there is no national law criminalizing homosexual acts, but there are some local laws that discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people. In contrast, Taiwan has no such laws at all and has even legalized same-sex marriage.

The band drew criticism from the very people that Healy’s tirade and behavior allegedly meant to support.

“If anything, what Matt Healy and The 1975 have done is belittle and disrupt the years of work of local activists working for change and understanding AND endangering our vulnerable minority communities,” Joe Lee said in a lengthy Twitter thread that went viral and was captured by NME.

“Every country has its laws,” Lee continued. “Foreigners are not allowed to come in and berate us and tell us how to do things, especially if they’re only going to make it worse for us.”

Many others agreed that Healy’s antics may actually make things worse for LGBTQIA+ people locally in Malaysia. “Now we’ve had to endure the political s—storm that’s about to descend upon us while in another country they’re fine getting drunk,” one wrote. “That wasn’t her fight.”

Lee echoed this sentiment as part of his thread, commenting, “We don’t need white people to come and save us.” This notion that this is a performative appearance by Healy as a “white savior” is echoed in many online reactions, though Healy and the band also have their supporters.