Malaysian LGBTQ+ community condemn The 1975’s Matty Healy over kiss incident
The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has been widely criticised by the Malaysian LGBTQ+ community for protesting the country’s stance on gay rights and kissing the band’s bassist Ross MacDonald on stage.The band were playing at Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 21) when Healy decried the Malaysian government’s hardline stance against LGBTQ+ rights.
Malaysian law criminalises sexual activity between people of the same sex, with its penal code criminalising “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and acts of “gross indecency”.“I made a mistake.
When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” Healy said.
Their set was cut short just two songs later.Following Healy’s stunt, the rest of Good Vibes Festival was cancelled by authorities and the band were banned from performing in Malaysia, according to the country’s official agency responsible for approving filming and performance applications from foreign artists.Now, many LGBTQ+ Malaysians have had their say.
