The 1975 claim to be “banned from Kuala Lumpur” following onstage kiss
During a stop on The 1975’s recent tour, the pop band brought one of their sets to an abrupt end after going against practices in Malaysia.
While performing at the Good Vibes Festival, frontman Matt Healy and Ross McDonald kissed midway through a rendition of ‘I Like America and America Likes Me’, after which their set was cut short by half an hour. The kiss opposed the Malaysian government, which is not accepting of LGBT rights.
Before the kiss, Healy made a speech about the country’s ordinances, telling the crowd: “I’m fucking furious. That’s not fair on you because you aren’t representative of your government. It’s fucking ridiculous to tell people what they can do”.
Healy explained how the band contemplated pulling out of the show altogether before changing their mind at the last minute: “I pulled the show yesterday, and we had a conversation, and we said, ‘We can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government”.
Further on in his speech, Healy addressed that he would gladly take the blame if the group were banned, explaining: “If you wanna bring me here, then fuck off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before, and it doesn’t feel good”.
Following the kiss, the band went through the next song, ‘I Couldn’t Be More In Love’, before leaving the stage, as Healy said: “We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, goodbye”. Other songs on the setlist not performed that night included ‘Robbers’, ‘Somebody Else’ and ‘I’m In Love With You’.
Healy had done the same thing when the band previously played in Dubai, where he kissed a male fan against the country’s anti-gay laws. As of yet, there is no word on how long the band will be banned from the country.
Good Vibes Festival have released a statement about the incident where they shared their regret at the set being cut short due to “non-compliance with local performance guidelines”.
“Good Vibes Festival has always been dedicated to providing enjoyable music experiences, and we sincerely appreciate your continued support,” it conitnued. “Good Vibes Festival 2023 will proceed as scheduled, and we eagerly anticipate your presence on Saturday and Sunday.”