Credit: Samuel Bradley

Judge gives ruling on The 1975 Malaysian kiss incident

Wed 26 February 2025 12:23, UK

Following a lengthy legal battle which saw matters taken to the UK High Court, a judge has ruled that the individual members of The 1975 cannot be held responsible for the financial losses experienced by Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival.

The band caused controversy in 2023 when they performed at the festival and protested against the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which punish homosexuality with up to 20 years in prison. Lead singer Matty Healy gave a speech on stage, stating, “I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

He continued: “I am sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government, but your government are a bunch of fucking r*****s and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back.” The musician then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald in front of the crowd.

The 1975 were blacklisted from Malaysia following the incident, with the whole festival coming to an abrupt end. The festival promoters, Future Sound Asia (FSA), are of the belief that the band are directly responsible for the losses sustained when Good Vibes had to be shut down early, and they’ve since attempted to sue the band for $2.4 million.

In their lawsuit, they claimed that the band breached their contract, despite the fact they were meant to be paid $350,000 to appear and they claimed they would abide by “all local guidelines and regulations.”

FSA’s lawyer, Andrew Burns KC, has claimed that the members “deliberately behaved in a way to challenge and provoke the Malaysian authorities,” while the band’s lawyer, Edmund Cullen KC, has stated that it is “bizarre” how the individual musicians are being blamed when it was their company, The 1975 Productions LLP, that signed the agreement.

Now, Judge William Hansen has declared that the FSA’s desire to have the individual members of the band held responsible is “bad as a matter of law and that there is no good reason why the matter should go to trial.”

The case will now continue between FSA and The 1975 Productions LLP, with the FSA asked to pay $126,000 in legal costs.