PAOrganizers of a Kuala Lumpur music festival are suing British band The 1975 for damages after accusing singer Matty Healy of attacking Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws, leading to the cancellation of the event.
During this period The band’s headline performance last JulyHealy also gave a profanity-filled speech to the audience and kissed a band member.
The company behind the Good Vibes Festival is seeking £1.9 million ($2.4 million) in damages from the UK High Court for breaching performance rules.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and is punishable by 20 years in prison. The festival does not allow political and religious talk, profanity, smoking or drinking on stage.
The BBC contacted the band, who said “they have nothing to add at this time”.
Festival organizers said in a court filing that The 1975 and its management team were aware of its rules for performers.
Future Sound Asia said the band performed at the same festival in 2016 and received multiple reminders of the rules before its performance last July.
The lawsuit claims the band decided to “act in a manner that violated the guidelines.”
It cited Healy’s “provocative speech” and a “long, feigned passionate embrace” with bassist Ross McDonald, saying it was “intended to cause offense and breach the rules”.
It added that the band also smuggled a bottle of wine on stage so Healy could have “easy access” to it.
Future Voice Asia also cited Malaysia’s Central Guidelines for Foreign Artists Applying to Foreign Filming and Performance Agencies, which prohibit “kissing, smooching or engaging in such behavior with one another in the audience”.
The day after the band’s performance, the event in Kuala Lumpur was cancelled. Malaysia’s communications ministry said it “takes an unwavering stance against any political party that challenges, ridicules or violates Malaysian laws”.
The organizer last August Threatening the band with legal action They were also asked to admit responsibility and compensate the organizers for the resulting losses.
Healy also performed well Criticized by members of the country’s LGBT community Who said acts of “performative activism” would make their lives more difficult.
The 35-year-old singer later defended his actions.
“There was no waltz in 1975 [into] The Malaysian government invited them to headline a music festival without prior notice, with full knowledge of the band’s political views and routine,” he said onstage in Dallas last October.
“My kissing Rose was not just a stunt to piss off the government,” he continued. “This is an ongoing part of a 1975 stage play that has been performed many times before.
“Canceling any regular segment of the show in order to appease Malaysian authorities’ bias against LGBTQ people would be a passive endorsement of these politics.”
The band is being sued in a separate class-action lawsuit by several musicians and vendors who say they suffered lost revenue due to the cancellation of the second and third days of the festival.
