On July 21, The 1975 got into even more trouble than usual. Though Matty Healy is known for giving out random kisses during his band’s performances, he smooched his bandmate Ross MacDonald in Malaysia to purposefully protest their LGBTQ+ rights. “I’m f*cking furious,” he said onstage in a rant. “And that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government.”
The festival was canceled, the group was reportedly banned from Malaysia, and there was talk of legal action against them. It looks like that could end up happening, because the organizer of the Good Vibes Festival is requesting RM 12.3 million (£2,099,154.54, or about $2.69 million) in damages.
“In the letter, FSA has demanded that The 1975 admit their liability and also pay the sum of £2,099,154.54 (RM12,347,967.91) within seven (7) days,” David Mathew, the festival’s organizer’s legal counsel, told Malay Mail in a statement. “The Letter of Claim is written in accordance with the provisions of the English Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocol which are part of the English Civil Procedure Rules.”
While playing in Hawaii, Healy addressed those criticizing him for his protest. “All I’ll say is that I don’t give a f*ck about any white savior complex bullsh*t,” he said. “What I’ll say is that doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice and very little reward. And being seen to do the right thing requires very little sacrifice, and that’s when you get all the rewards. And me and Ross [MacDonald] nearly shaved our heads because we thought we were going to prison for being f**s.”
