The 1975 have been hit with over £2 million in damages for Matty Healy’s on-stage protest in Malaysia (Picture: Getty)
Matty Healy and The 1975 have been ordered to pay more than £2 million to a festival which was cancelled by the government after the bandmates kissed on stage.
The group were banned from Malaysia in July after frontman Matty protested the country’s strict anti-gay laws by kissing bandmate Ross McDonald on stage at Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes festival.
Prior to this, he ranted against the Malaysian government and spoke in support of the LGBTQ+ community, with their set list getting cut short by 30 minutes as a result.
The festival, which had been due to go on for several more days, was then cancelled by the government in light of the protest and same-sex kiss.
The band have now been ordered to pay millions for allegedly breaching a contract as the festival and vendors lost major revenue once the event was cancelled with no notice, or they will face legal action.
Future Sound Asia (FSA), the festival’s organisers, said it had been assured in writing that The 1975’s set would adhere to ‘all local guidelines and regulations.’
Matty and the band face a massive bill for insulting the government and supporting LGBTQ+ rights on stage (Picture: WireImage)
They allege that the event was cancelled due to Matty’s ‘abusive language, equipment damage and indecent stage behaviour.’
In a statement seen by PA, lawyers for the FSA said it was seeking £2,099,154.54 in damages, ‘essentially for breach of contract.’
Legal counsel David Mathew said The 1975’s representative had’categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr Healy and The 1975’s live performance “shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations” during their set in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the assurance was ignored.’
He said Matty’s actions ‘had repercussions on local artists and small businesses, who relied on the festival for creative opportunities and their livelihoods.
‘In this connection, Future Sound Asia wishes to move forward in a way that will give the Malaysian community affected some closure.’
The FSA previously said if the final warning is not addressed, then legal proceedings in English courts will begin.
The festival was cut short and then cancelled in its entirety after the on-stage stunt (Picture: Redferns)
Matty, who claimed he had been considering shaving his head in case he was sent to prison over the stunt, addressed the controversy last week at a show in Honolulu, saying ‘doing the right thing… requires quite a lot of sacrifice.’
‘All I’ll say is that I don’t give a f**k about any white saviour complex b******s,’ he began.
‘What I’ll say is that doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice and very little reward. And being seen to do the right thing requires very little sacrifice, and that’s when you get all the rewards.
‘And me and Ross nearly shaved our heads because we thought we were going to prison for being f**s.’
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Appearing at the Malaysian festival, Matty kissed bassist Ross after saying ‘I don’t see the f*****g point… of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
‘I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious… but your government are a bunch of f*****g r*****s.’
Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital cancelled the festival in the wake of the incident, and in a statement the festival said: ‘The Ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws… we sincerely apologise to all our ticket holders, vendors, sponsors, and partners.
‘We are aware of the time, energy and efforts you have put into making this festival a success, and we value your steadfast support.’
The rest of The 1975’s Asia Tour, which included stops at Jakarta, Indonesia’s We the Fest, and a show in Taipei, Taiwan, were also pulled.
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It could turn out to be an expensive protest.