The 1975 cancel Indonesia and Taiwan shows after Malaysia ban
Indie pop band The 1975 have cancelled their upcoming shows in Indonesia and Taiwan following their cut-short set in Malaysia. The latter incident occurred after singer Matty Healy kissed his bass player on stage, an act of protest given that homosexuality is illegal in the country.
Healy had made a speech against anti-LGBT laws at the beginning of the set, and the resultant kiss led to the band being pulled from the stage and the remainder of the Good Vibes Festival being cancelled. The 1975 also claim to have been banned from Malaysia.
Now, We The Fest in Indonesia has announced that The 1975 have cancelled the rest of their shows in Asia because of recent events. In a statement, the band wrote, “The band never take the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows.”
“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 during the Malaysia show.
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 retards and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back. I am not in the fucking mood, I’m not in the fucking mood.”
The festival promoters claimed that Healy promised to adhere to the laws of Malaysia and local performance guidelines. They wrote in a statement, “Healy did not honour these assurances, despite our trust in their commitment. Healy’s actions took us by complete surprise, and we halted the show as promptly as feasible following the incident.”
Watch a video of the incident below.
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