The Malaysian music festival, Good Vibes, has filed a $2.4m (£1.9m) lawsuit against UK band The 1975 after frontman Matty Healy’s kissing incident during their headline performance last year. During the show in Kuala Lumpur, Healy criticised Malaysian anti-LGBTQ laws and publicly kissed bassist Ross MacDonald. The set was abruptly cut short by authorities, leading to the cancellation of the remainder of the festival. The band was subsequently banned from performing in Malaysia.
The lawsuit has named each band member individually and accused them of deliberately going against the festival’s restrictions which included avoiding politics or religion-related discussions on stage and not carrying out any kissing actions. According to court documents filed in the UK High Court, festival organisers, Future Sound Asia (FSA), who are demanding damages, claimed that The 1975 were made aware of the specific rules issued by the Malaysia Central Agency for the Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) prior to the performance.
The lawsuit also alleges that the band had decided not to perform at the music festival on the night before but went on stage with a different setlist and acted in ways that were intended to breach the guidelines. After Healy’s speech, he engaged in a kiss with MacDonald, which ultimately led to the abrupt cancellation of the festival. The Malaysian LGBTQ+ community also condemned Healy over his actions, arguing that “Foreigners don’t get to come in and sh*t on us and tell us how to do things, especially when they only make it worse for us”.
The 1975 were paid $350,000 (£272,000) to perform at the festival and had agreed to abide by the rules stipulated in order to take part. Last summer, the band’s lawyers announced that they were working to resolve the ongoing issue with FSA. At present, the band has yet to respond to the lawsuit
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