Matty Healy kissed his band mate onstage. It got an entire music festival cancelled.

British frontman Matty Healy is known for a lot of things, but no more than 1. kissing people onstage, and 2. causing many, many an uproar.

This weekend, he's managed to do both at the same time - and it's caused an entire music festival to be shutdown.

Hold up - who is Matty Healy?

Fair question! Healy is the frontman of British pop rock band The 1975. They gained a major following in the early 2010s, especially during the internet's peak 'Tumblr era', and have enjoyed a pretty solid career ever since.

They're regulars on the festival circuit and most recently toured Australia in April.

And if none of that helps, this might: he was Taylor Swift's chaotic rebound earlier this year.

Okay. What happened?

Malaysia's government has halted a three-day music festival in the capital Kuala Lumpur after just one day, following an onstage kiss between Healy and The 1975's bassist, Ross MacDonald, of British pop rock band The 1975.

In videos posted on social media, Healy shared a speech criticising the Malaysian government's stance against homosexuality and its anti-LGBTQI laws, before kissing MacDonald.

Image: Getty.

He said the band, who were headlining the festival's first night, had considered pulling out of the show but did not want to disappoint fans in Malaysia.

"I made a mistake," Healy said.

"When we were booking shows, I wasn't looking into it. 

"I don't see the f***ing point... of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with."

Healy cut short the set after just 30 minutes onstage.

"All right, we gotta go," he told the crowd. 

"We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur - I'll see you later."

The 1975 has been banned from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia after Matty Healy and bandmate Ross MacDonald kissed on-stage during their set at Good Vibes Festival.

Before the kiss, Healy gave a speech on his disappointment in the country’s discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community. pic.twitter.com/XcHuPHiYr5

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 21, 2023

Afterwards, he shared this rather unserious Story on Instagram:

Image: Instagram.

Healy has done similar before: in 2019, he and a male fan kissed at a concert in Dubai. He has said he was threatened with arrest before leaving the UAE.

Why was the festival cancelled?

The next morning, Good Vibes Festival said it had been ordered to cancel the next two days of performances by the Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Digital.

"There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws," Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a Twitter post.

Festival organiser Future Sound Asia apologised for the cancellation of the show following Healy's "controversial conduct and remarks". 

It said The 1975's management had promised the band would obey performance guidelines.

"Regrettably, Healy did not honour these assurances," it said in a statement.

FSA also expressed concern the incident could "erode the confidence of music promoters and various stakeholders ... and threaten the stability of our burgeoning live arts scene".

The 1975 has now been banned from performing in Malaysia, a government committee that oversees filming and performances by foreigners said.

The government in March introduced stricter guidelines, including on dress code and conduct, for foreign acts coming to Malaysia, citing the need to protect sensitivities, media reported. 

Homosexuality is a crime in the country, and rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

What has the reaction been?

The voices of the Queer community in Malaysia has been mostly negative, with many labelling his actions as 'white saviourism' and 'performative activism'.

Man, I dunno what to make of what Matty Healy did. Queer rights in this country is obviously appalling, but it just feels the whole thing was peak white performative activism.

And now a bunch of people are fucked (read: us)

— Nazeera Nasir 🏴 (@nzranasr) July 21, 2023

As a malaysian queer, what matty healy and the 1975 did was WORSE for malaysian queers. Now we are gonna have tolerate the political shitstorm thats about to happen while they are fine getting drunk in another country. This wasn’t their fight

— Shou’s castles are crumbling. ⚡️ (@shoukunz13) July 21, 2023

Matty Healy and the 1975 leaving Malaysia thinking they've empowered the LGBTQ+ movement. #GVF2023 #GoodVibesfestival pic.twitter.com/32DbqMG6CG

— chino (@miggychino) July 21, 2023

Thank you Matty Healy for coming over to Kuala Lumpur and throwing your unneeded white activism at us but you've just made it harder for us queer Malaysians now

— Khadi (@khudeejuh) July 21, 2023

Fans of the band, however, seem to generally approve of his actions.

How other performers have responded.

Australian The Kid LAROI was supposed to headline Saturday at the festival, but touched down in Malaysia to discover it cancelled.

He announced on Instagram Stories that he hoped to play some songs from his hotel's bar, and stuck to his word, delivering an abbreviated show to a small crowd.

The Strokes, who were set to headline Sunday, wrote on Instagram: "Malaysia we were so looking forward to performing for you and disappointed we'll miss you tomorrow".

Musician Alexander 23 held a meet-and-greet for fans.

Local artist Mardiana expressed her disappointment on Instagram.

"Performers, vendors, entrepreneurs, crew, and all the excited festival goers…. We are all affected. How is it fair that all of us have to be punished for ONE person’s unprofessionalism and disrespect," she wrote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by mars 👽 (@mardiana.x)

Other artists on the lineup performed impromptu, last-minute gigs at smaller venues and encouraged their fans to support local food vendors and businesses impacted by the cancellation.

The 1975 were due to play festivals in Jakarta and Taiwan this week. These appearances were subsequently cancelled on Sunday. 

"Due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows," the band said in a statement. "Thank you for your understanding and continued support."

-With AAP.

Feature image: Getty/TikTok.

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