The organisers of Malaysia’s Good vibes festival are moving forward with their lawsuit against English band The 1975 suing for $2.4 million in damages over a same-sex kiss during the band’s performance at the festival in July 2023.
The lawsuit is directed at the band and each individual member of the musical foursome.
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.
News that the festival would be suing the band first emerged in March, but now more details of the accusations against the band have been revealed, as well as allegations about the band’s behaviour in the lead up to the incident.
Variety magazine has shared details of the claims in the lawsuit. In court documents filed in the United Kingdom festival organisers claim that the band and their management was made aware of the restrictions on their performance several times before they took to the stage.
They note that the band had previously performed at the festival in 2016 and had abided by restrictions placed by the Malaysian government, and we told of the prohibitions they needed to abide by in the lead up to their 2023 appearance.
The restrictions included smoking or drinking on stage, swearing, speaking about politics or religion, or removing clothing on stage. The Malaysian government also had a ban on “kissing, kissing a member of the audience or carrying out such actions among themselves.”
The lawsuit states that the Malaysian government agency had initially rejected the application for the band being included in the festival, but it had been approved on appeal after the band agreed to abide to all the restrictions.
They allege the band considered pulling out of the festival the night before, but decided to move ahead with a different set list and “act in way that intended to breach the guidelines”. The band is also accused of acting aggressively, swearing and “grunting” during their time on stage.
During the performance The 1975’s lead singer Matty Healy delivered a speech criticising country’s laws which outlaw homosexuality. The speech came five songs into their set following a performance of the song Looking for Somebody to Love. At the end of the speech he kissed the band’s guitarist.
The band performed two more numbers before Healy told the audience they “just got banned from Kuala Lumpur”. The band’s set list showed they had planned on playing nine more songs.
After government authorities pulled the plug on the band’s performance mid-show, they forced the remaining two days of the festival to be cancelled.
The band have not yet filed a defence to the lawsuit. A rep for the 1975 declined to comment.
