Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival wants British band The 1975 to pay $2million in damages over the fallout of an onstage protest where lead singer Matty Healy kissed one of the other band members.
The band made an onstage protest at the festival in July 2023 making a stance against the country’s anti-LGBTIQA+ laws.
Healy slammed the countries laws against homosexuality during an appearance at the Good Vibes Festival. After he kissed bass payer Ross MacDonald their performance was stopped, and authorities then forced the entire three-day festival to close down. The band were subsequently banned from performing in Malaysia.
Now the organisers of the festival claim the band breached their contract through their actions, and they’ve put the price of the incident at AUD$2million dollars.
Entertainment industry magazine Variety has reported on the ongoing dispute, but the band declined to comment.
The legal representatives for the company behind the festival shared their thoughts. Lawyers for Future Sound Asia said the band were in the wrong and should be held accountable.
“They entered into a binding contract with Future Sound Asia to perform and the position of Future Sound Asia, among others, is that this contractual obligation was breached,” Future Sound Asia attorney David Matthew said in a statement.
“Further, Mr. Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr. Healy and The 1975’s live performance ‘shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations’ during their set in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the assurance was ignored.”
After the incident a new regulation was brought in for music festivals in Malaysia requiring them to have a ‘kill switch’ to end the performances of any bands whose comments or actions stray from the predominantly Muslim country’s strict rules.
OIP Staff
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