Future Sound Asia, the organizer of the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, has decided to sue The 1975 for breaking their contract.
The organizer is now asking for $2.4 million because frontman Matty Healy criticized Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on stage and kissed bassist Ross McDonald during the 2023 festival. The organizer says The 1975 knew about the festival’s rules and still broke them. The band was paid $350,000 to perform but only after agreeing to follow the rules for their performance.
These rules included no kissing, whether with each other or fans; no profanity, no smoking or drinking on stage, no removing clothing, and no discussing politics or religion. Healy did most of these things, and the lawsuit says the band almost pulled out the night before they were supposed to perform.
Is It Fair For The 1975?
At the Good Vibes Festival on July 21, Healy spoke out against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws and kissed his bandmate, Ross MacDonald. As a result, the Malaysian government canceled the rest of the festival.
Although they are now being sued, the band was told they wouldn’t be sued and face a ban from the country.
Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching recently said that banning concerts because of one incident would be unfair to other artists. She noted that the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artists (PUSPAL) has approved 296 foreign performances this year. Teo Nie Ching commented:
“Just because of one incident, how can we cancel the others? Out of 296 artists, only one happened. How is this fair?”
‘Malaysian Authorities Imprisoned Us’
Healy read a message from his phone at the show and defended the band’s pro-LGBTQ stance. He criticized those calling them insensitive and said calling their performance colonialism was ridiculous. He also said that the country’s authorities were ‘imprisoning them’:
“To call the 1975’s performance colonialism is a complete inversion of the word’s meaning.… We have no [power] at all to enforce will on anyone in Malaysia. In fact, it was the Malaysian authorities who briefly imprisoned us.”
He added:
“It should be expected that if you invite dozens of Western performers into your country, they’ll bring their Western values with them. If the very same things which made you aware of them could land them in jail in your country, you’re not actually inviting them to perform. You’re indirectly commanding them to reflect your country’s policies by omission.”
Representatives of The 1975 haven’t commented on the suitcase yet.