Matty Healy used the Australian dates of The 1975’s At Their Very Best Tour to make a couple of declarations. In Adelaide on April 12, Healy explained his decision to deactivate from social media because “the era of me being a f*cking a**hole is gonna come to an end.”
Healy then introduced his rat era in Brisbane on Saturday, April 15, according to Australian outlet The Music.
“There’s a meme that I’m a specific rat, which, is it the kid from Flushed Away?” Healy told the crowd, as captured by The Music and BBC Radio 1. “This is actually doing me damage. I’m not cashing in on anything there. But we’re all friends, and I’ve seen that meme so many times, and it’s made me laugh. And the reason I’ve not said anything about it is because — I mean, listen, the reason I’m successful is because of this f*cking brilliant band right here.”
He continued, “Guys, you know my parents are actors. My mother is an actress. She’s a legend! Give it up for mum! Her godfather is a producer, and he produces movies. I wasn’t actually close with him until I was around about probably about 14 years old or something like that. But anyway, he was looking for inspiration for a movie he was producing called Flushed Away. So, it is genuinely based on me. I know that seems ridiculous, but if you do enough internet research, you’ll be able to be find out that that’s true. They did a good job, so maybe I am officially a f*cking rat now.”
he dropped this groundbreaking information on stage in australia over the weekend… pic.twitter.com/GAGBLA2J1J
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) April 17, 2023
BBC Radio 1 did that internet research and confirmed that Healy’s godfather is Ian La Frenais, who is listed as a writer with a “story by” credit on the Flushed Away IMDb page:
so we did the digging and our minds were blown 🤯 pic.twitter.com/SsjbwbWgmh
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) April 17, 2023
Flushed Away came out in 2006. Its synopsis reads, “The story of an uptown rat that gets flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment, ending in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new and different way of life.”
The rat is named Roddy, voiced by Hugh Jackman. Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, and Andy Serkis were also among the voice cast.
See some of the best reactions below.
What came first the rat from flushed away or Matty Healy?
Scientists are yet to discover the truth pic.twitter.com/jDUbyHXXCD— Emily (@hauntingy0urbed) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/but_i_see_you/status/1647207830372401153?s=20
people comparing matty healy to the rat from flushed away only to find out that his grandfather was one of the producers of the movie and that he actually was the inspiration for the rat from flushed away is the funniest thing i’ve ever heard in my life
— jasmine (@toastypunk) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/februaryblues_/status/1647345142129410054?s=20
i'm actually crying the way t1975 fans have compared matty to the flushed away rat for YEARS only to have matty himself admit that his mother's godfather produced the movie and based the character off of HIM like WHAT
LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY HIM pic.twitter.com/h1fM1UoSHO
— ceo of paul mescal in hamnet (@sofeashabani) April 16, 2023
matty saying flushed away was done by one of denise's friend, therefore he might actually be the actual inspiration for this fucking rat?? pic.twitter.com/xxvbKWtjdI
— lou ⎕ (@AB0UTL0U) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/milouist91/status/1647630163801260033?s=20
