Malaysian government decides against ban on all concerts after The 1975 gay kiss row
nme.comThe 1975‘s Matty Healy and Ross McDonald shared a kiss onstage during Good Vibes Festival earlier this year.The confirmation – per the New Straits Times – comes after the Malaysian government announced that concerts must have a “kill switch” to cut off performances that break guidelines.
At the time, the government was also debating on whether international performers should also be banned from performing in Malaysia.Now, however, the ban is being ruled out, with Deputy communications and digital minister Teo Nie Ching announcing in parliament that local music fans and other international artists should not be punished for one band’s actions.“The 1975 flouted several guidelines and we are in the midst of strengthening the guidelines to avoid reoccurrence,” she said. “Just because of one incident, how can we cancel the others?
Out of 296 artistes only one happened. How is this fair?”During their set on July 21, Matty Healy kissed bassist Ross McDonald in front of the live crowd at Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur.
The remainder of the three-day festival was later cancelled by authorities and both Healy and the band were banned from performing in the country.
