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Matty Healy: The Activist No One Asked For

Hannah Bentley

Hannah Bentley 

The Good Vibes Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was cancelled after Matty Healy, The 1975 frontman, protested the country’s strict laws against homosexuality by kissing bassist Ross MacDonald. This act of defiance has sparked debate over the right to speak on behalf of marginalised groups.

The three-day festival, with a capacity of 10,000 people, is popular in East Asia. In the past, it has welcomed many international musicians, such as The Kooks, Smashing Pumpkins, and SZA.

However, the festival was cut short after Healy shared a smooch with his bandmate. Following the event, festival organisers are seeking $2.7 million in damages from the indie rock band for “breach of contract”.

Before the controversial kiss, the 34-year-old singer exhibited disrespectful behaviour, such as spitting on crowds and damaging a drone filming the performance.

The controversy

“The band was asked to leave the stage just 30 minutes into their set”

Healy’s provocative actions challenged Malaysia’s strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which deem homosexuality a crime. Homosexuality is punished with monetary fines, corporal punishment, and up to 20 years in prison. Malaysia is also ranked as the second worst place in the world to be transgender, due to a strong sense of conservatism within the country’s government.

Healy expressed discomfort about the band’s performance. He told the crowd he “made a mistake” booking the show without researching the country’s stance on gay rights beforehand. Reportedly, Healy considered pulling out of the festival, saying: “I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

The band was asked to leave the stage just 30 minutes into their set. Malaysian government ministers condemned the British singer for disrespecting local customs and banned the group from returning to the country.

An official statement from Good Vibes Festival cites Healy’s behaviour as the direct cause for the festival being cancelled. The statement reads: “The ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.”

The impact of Matty Healy’s actions

Many festival-goers were disappointed by the event being cut short. Some had travelled great distances to attend The Good Vibes Festival. Other artists, such as The Strokes, were also unable to deliver the show they had promised their fans because of the cancellation.

Moreover, small businesses hoping to make a profit at the festival reportedly lost thousands of pounds as a result of Healy’s actions. For example, the NME reported that 28 food vendors have been left with empty pockets. Many had already bought supplies and paid an upfront fee to the festival’s organisers.

“Healy has also been threatened with legal action from other artists”

Given the scale of financial loss, the festival promoters, Future Sound Asia (FSA), are pursuing compensation for the festival cancellation and equipment damage. FSA claim The 1975 “intentionally contravened [their] agreement” and has “tarnished” the festival’s reputation. They also state the nation’s music scene was jeopardised by the performance.

Healy has also been threatened with legal action from other artists, who did not get to perform after his outburst.

Activist or attention-seeker?

Many praised Healy for speaking out against Malaysia’s oppressive laws and raising awareness of anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes. Peter Tatchell, Guardian columnist and British LGBTQ+ campaigner, commended Healy for his act of “solidarity” with queer people living in Malaysia.

But others responded to Healy’s alcohol-fuelled rant with more cynicism, calling the kiss “performative” and labelling him a “white saviour”.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian, artist YaYa Bones described Healy’s theatrics as a “terrible misjudgement”. Bones went on to explain that his actions demonstrate “the post-colonial guilt that many white Westerners seem to have when visiting countries once ruled by the British empire.”

One Twitter user explained how hard queer activists have worked to create safe spaces for people in Malaysia. Healy has now put these at risk, as all he has done “is tighten the laws” that he was trying to oppose and draw attention to LGBTQ+ people living in Malaysia. They said: “Matty and his bandmates are all rich white men who LOSE NOTHING by doing what they did.”

This is not the first time Matt Healy has been criticized for his attempts at activism.

In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, Healy tweeted: “If you truly believe that ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ you need to stop facilitating the end of black ones”. The tweet also included a link to the band’s newly released single Love It If We Made It.

The singer was accused of taking advantage of the protests to create traction around the band’s music. He later removed the tweet and apologised, saying he linked the song because it featured lyrics relating to police brutality and racism.

Facing the consequences

Apart from praising Tatchell’s positive reaction, the band has not commented much on their recent ban from Malaysia. But Healy referred to the controversy during a performance in Chicago.

“Healy’s actions, although well-intended, are short-sighted and ultimately self-serving”

The group have a long-running joke, in which Healy is cut off mid-sentence by a band member before he can say something problematic or controversial. At the Lollapalooza festival, Healy said “You want a travel tip? Don’t go to-” before the opening notes of It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) were played over him.

This perfectly summarises the lack of critical thinking and introspective skills Matt Healy and his bandmates have. Healy’s actions, although well-intended, are short-sighted and ultimately self-serving.

The band left Kuala Lumpur mere hours after the show and faced few repercussions. If anything, the extra media attention has boosted the band’s popularity.

Meanwhile, his queer fans and other members of the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia continue to face persecution. The kiss, and the speech that ensued, may have brought awareness of the issue to the Western world, but it has come at the cost of those trying to survive under such extreme oppression.

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Featured image courtesy of PeaceSeakers via Wikimedia Commons. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

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