The 1975's Matty Healy feared jail after kissing male bandmate in Malaysia

08 August 2023 , 20:09

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The 1975's Matty Healy feared jail after kissing male bandmate in Malaysia

Matty Healy has opened up about the aftermath of his onstage kiss with his The 1975 bandmate Ross MacDonald.

The Cheshire-born musicians were performing in Malaysia, which has strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws and were subsequently banned from the Asian country. Law authorities in the country have imposed punishments including caning and imprisonment for being part of the LGBTQ+ community within the country. It is also possible to receive a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

But Matty, 34, is never afraid to say or do what's on his mind and stood up against and criticised the laws. The group consisting of Matty, Ross, Adam and George had been performing at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Matty Healy and Ross MacDonald locked lips in Malaysia to protest against their anti-LGBTQ+ laws

Matty is never one to shy away from what's on his mind (Getty Images)

Their kiss which went on for around 20 seconds was prefaced by a speech from Matty about the anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the country. "I made a mistake when we were booking shows. I wasn't looking into it," Healy told the crowds, adding that he was "furious" over Malaysia's intolerance of homosexuality. "I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with."

He later went on to say that they had been "banned" from Kuala Lumpur. During a performance in Hawaii, Matty has now addressed the situation and said: "doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice". He continued: "All I'll say is that I don’t give a f**k about any white saviour complex b******s. What I’ll say is that doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice and very little reward.

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The 1975 are huge advocates for LGBTQ+ rights

"And being seen to do the right thing requires very little sacrifice, and that's when you get all the rewards. And me and Ross nearly shaved our heads because we thought we were going to prison for being f**s." At the time of the kiss, a source close to the band told the Mirror: "Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and the community."

Following the act of protest, the festival's organisers said the group's performance was stopped over "non-compliance with local performance guidelines". Malaysia's Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil called the band's performance "very disrespectful".

In a statement, the organisers later announced the cancellation of the rest of the festival, in a statement which said: "We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule of Good Vibes Festival 2023, planned for today and tomorrow has been cancelled following the controversial conduct and remarks by UK artist Matt Healy from the band The 1975.

"This decision adheres to the immediate cancellation directive issued... by the Ministry of Communications and Digital. The ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws." The singer's mother, Denise Welch, has also spoken up about her son's ban from Malaysia. The Loose Women host reposted a video of Healy and MacDonald's kiss on Twitter with the caption, "He's my son," and a rainbow emoji, suggesting she's proud of his decision to speak up on the matter.

Daniel Bird