Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge felt vindicated in his belief that “aliens f*cking exist” last week, but his interest in the extraterrestrial took a backseat to his stance on human rights while attending The 1975’s Lollapalooza set on Friday, August 4.
“I guess myself ‘AND’ @the1975 won’t be going to Malaysia – just a couple dudes kissing during their phenomenal set at #lollapalooza,” DeLonge captioned an Instagram post showing him and The 1975 lead vocalist Matty Healy embracing.
DeLonge separately posted a video of the moment, writing, “@the1975 blew me away at Lollapalooza…. Great f*cking band. @trumanblack even gave me a quick kiss as a first time hello.”
Anybody who follows Healy and The 1975 knows Healy kissing people on stage isn’t out of the ordinary, and that tendency was a problem in Malaysia last month.
The 1975 were mid-set at Good Vibes Festival 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when Healy protested the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws with a speech. He and his bandmate sealed the message with a kiss. The set was cut short, with Healy informing the crowd that he and the band were now “banned” from Malaysia, and the festival’s remainder was subsequently canceled altogether (as confirmed by this official statement).
Most recently, The Guardian reported that the festival’s promoters, Future Sound Asia (FSA) “are now pursuing a claim against the British band calling on them to acknowledge liability and compensate FSA for damages incurred.”
The report continued, “If they fail to do so, FSA will take action in the UK. FSA claim that Healy’s actions ‘tarnished’ the festival’s reputation and that they ‘intentionally contravened the agreement [the band] had with FSA.'”
