The 1975 have been sued for $2.4 million by Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival, a year after Matthew Healy kissed Ross MacDonald onstage to protest the country’s homophobic laws, Variety reports. The damages, just shy of the $2.6 million originally requested last year, relate to the Malaysian government’s subsequent decision to cancel the festival altogether. Healy addressed the incident at a show in Texas last October, alluding to being “briefly imprisoned” in Malaysia. “If you truly believe that artists have a responsibility to uphold their liberal virtues by using their massive platforms, then those artists should be judged by the danger and inconvenience that they face for doing so, not by the rewards they receive for parroting consensus,” he said.
Festival organizers Future Sound Asia reportedly filed the lawsuit in the United Kingdom’s High Court, claiming the band deliberately flouted the country’s laws after numerous reminders. Among those rules were swearing, smoking and drinking on stage, taking off clothes, and talking about politics or religion, according to Variety. Other guidelines specifically banned kissing. The lawsuit reportedly notes that the band considered not performing, but decided instead to protest the rules by playing “a completely different setlist” and defying the guidelines on purpose, including Healy’s “provocative speech” and “long pretend passionate embrace” with MacDonald.
During the set, Healy had denounced Malaysian government policies that make homosexuality punishable by up to 20 years in prison. “If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can fuck off,” he told the crowd. “I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m fucked off.” The set came to an abrupt end, with Healy saying, “All right, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur. See you later.” The band canceled shows in Jakarta and Taipei immediately after the festival.
Future Sound Asia filed its request for damages last year through the legal firm Steven Thiru & Sudhar Partnership, which cited Healy’s written agreement that the band would “adhere to all local guidelines and regulations.” It added, in a statement, at the time, “Their actions have had repercussions on local Malaysian artists and small businesses, who relied on the festival for creative opportunities and their livelihoods.”
After the Malaysian show, the 1975 posted a statement through We the Fest, which had been due to host their show in Jakarta, Indonesia. “The band never takes the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows,” it read.
Representatives for the 1975 did not immediately respond to Pitchfork’s request for comment.