In a bold act of defiance, The 1975’s band member, kissed a bandmate onstage during a festival in Kuala Lumpur, openly challenging Malaysia’s laws. The government swiftly shut down the event, blacklisted the band, and now organisers are suing for £1.9 million ($2.4 million), citing breach of contract, as the terms had explicitly warned against acts such as public affection or political provocation. For many local queer activists, the deeper wound was in how the gesture backfired: it jeopardised years of cautious grassroots progress, thus increased scrutiny and risk for those living under these laws.
While Healy’s frustrations with censorship may be justified, the way he voiced them — including the use of ableist slurs and sweeping condemnations — has drawn widespread criticism, and is frowned upon by the religious majority. His outbursts speak to the volatile intersection of performance, politics and personal boundaries in the public sphere. But for some fans and activists, particularly in Southeast Asia, the question remains: who does this kind of self-serving protest really serve, and who does it ultimately endanger?
Aftermath of The 1975’s Tirade On-Stage
In what appeared to be a retaliatory move, the popular band then cancelled its scheduled shows in Indonesia, presumably initially as part of a shared touring schedule for Djarkata Warehouse Project and Taiwan, showing a tone-deaf disregard for the cultural and religious sensitivities of the region, despite having been told not to do that to begin with.
The Good Vibes Festival, an inclusive platform for youth culture, was shut down. The band was banned. What is left in the wake of that moment is not just financial impact for the organisers, Future Sound Asia, but a painful sense of betrayal felt by many in Malaysia’s LGBTQ+ community. Because for all its defiance, Healy’s gesture did not help queer Malaysians. It risked their safety.
Disruption of Responsible Localised LGBTQ+ Advocacy for Diverse Communities
It disrupted years of careful, localised advocacy built on cultural understanding, slow progress, and often, survival through silence. This isn’t to say protest doesn’t matter. But there’s a difference between showing solidarity and staging spectacle. For many Southeast Asian activists, the protest, despite The 1975’s worldwide popularity, and being known for their songs, “Chocolate” and “Robbers”, felt performative, done without regard for those who would live with the consequences long after the lights dimmed and the band left the country.
What may have seemed like a righteous stand against oppression ended up silencing queer voices on their own turf. The Malaysian government stood firm. The community was left to pick up the pieces, once again navigating a political climate that views queerness not just as taboo, but punishable, with long term impact, as its 2024 permits, were not approved, for larger scale music festivals, and 2025 left in limbo.
I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m [profanity] off’.
The 1975’s tirade at Good Vibes Festival 2023
During a volatile moment onstage, Matty Healy expressed regret, fury, and defiance all at once — lashing out at both governments and online culture in a profanity-laced tirade that left fans in shock. “I feel sorry for you guys,” Healy began, addressing the crowd. “I made a mistake—no, f*** it, not that. I made a mistake when we were booking shows. I wasn’t looking into it.”
And I am sorry if that offends you and you are religious, and it is part of your [profanity] government. The government are a bunch of [profanity] retards, and I don’t care anymore if you push, I am going to push back. I am not in the [profanity] mood.
1975’s tirade continues, quoted verbatim, insulting the Malaysian government
During a recent live performance, Matty Healy launched into a heated monologue in response to online backlash surrounding a TikTok video. The video had apparently questioned his physical interaction with a child — the child of a friend — accusing him of inappropriate conduct based solely on finger placement. Healy didn’t hold back:
“So what, we’re just casually accusing people of being paedophiles now? For entertainment? Is that what we’re doing? Because it [expletive] looks like it.”
1975’s tirade continues
Visibly upset, he addressed the audience and those filming, then explained why the band had considered cancelling the show:
“Unfortunately, you don’t get a set of uplifting songs because I’m furious — and that’s not fair on you. Because you’re not your government. I’m sure a lot of you are gay, and progressive and cool.”
1975’s tirade continues
Healy added that he had pulled the show the day before out of anger and frustration, but it was too late as due to their irresponsible behaviour, they were removed off stage, causing the next day’s show to be cancelled as well, leading to unpaid vendors, and a slew of consumer refunds that Future Sound Asia had to pick up:
“We had a conversation and said, ‘You know what? We can’t let the kids down — because they’re not the government.’”
1975’s tirade continues
As the lawsuit proceeds, with the four members’ individual liabilities absolved, with 1975’s Band liability being called to question, since the Band had full awareness off what should not have been done, it serves as a cautionary tale: even well-intentioned acts of allyship can derail progress if they are not in touch with the realities on the ground. Visibility without accountability can look a lot like disrespect, and worse, it can be dangerous, further “tarnished” the festival’s reputation and “intentionally contravened the agreement [the band] had with the Future Sound Asia”.
Real advocacy listens first. It protects before it provokes.
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