Attendees of a major Malaysian festival spoke out after Matty Healy's protest against anti-LGBTQ+ policies resulted in the 3-day event's cancellation
- A music festival in Malaysia was cancelled after The 1975's Matty Healy kissed his bandmate onstage.
- Before the kiss, Healy spoke against the anti-LGBTQ+ policies, criticizing the Malaysian government.
Matty Healy's onstage protest against Malaysia's anti-LGBTQ+ policies at a major music festival in the country resulted in the cancellation of the remaining set list, leaving some fans in uproar.
On Friday, Healy and his band, The 1975, took to the stage as headliners of Malaysia's Good Vibes festival, a three-day event showcasing multiple performers at Kuala Lumpur's Sepang International Circuit.
However, things didn't proceed as concertgoers anticipated after Healy spoke about his disapproval of the country's anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Onstage, he told fans booking the festival was a "mistake" as he didn't see the "point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with."
According to The Guardian, homosexuality is deemed illegal in Malaysia and is punishable by 20 years in prison.
Healy then made out with his fellow bandmate Ross MacDonald in front of the crowd before officials ordered the entire band off stage. Footage widely circulating on Twitter showed Healy telling festivalgoers: "We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later."
Following the abrupt end to the set, Malaysia's Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil announced the remainder of the festival was canned. The weekend lineup was set to include performances from other prominent artists like Daniel Caesar, The Strokes, The Kid Laroi, and Ty Dolla $ign.
Representatives for The 1975 did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
While footage from Friday's event had some fans audibly cheering as Healy criticized the government and its policies, online, several fans spoke out against the musician's protest and its consequences for the entire festival lineup.
TikToker @nishaanggun uploaded a video on Saturday providing a glimpse into the tense atmosphere in the crowd following Healy's speech. The clip, which received over 3.7 million views as of Sunday, showed one fan saying how Healy's remark resulted in attendees left with "nothing to do" but go home.
"I came here for The 1975, I paid three days festival, just to see The 1975," the TikToker says in the video.
Later the clip shows the crowd booing at the stage and some members chanting "refund."
Another Tiktok shared by TikToker @banubino showed more footage of Healy's speech. "Guys it was a music festival with a lot of other local and international artist in the lineup. He came for only 30 mins show and got everything cancelled, including the next 2 days. Honestly, he ruined it for everyone," the video's caption reads.
On Twitter, some users suggested Healy should've been more aware of Malaysian culture and law. "Wow, thanks a lot, The 1975," one user wrote. "You have officially made it very difficult for Malaysia to have anymore international concerts."
Another user, who identified themselves as a queer Malaysian, tweeted that Healy's "stunt" worked against the efforts the country's queer community is making to campaign for their rights.
"Let's set some stuff clear. Matty and his bandmates are all rich white men who LOSE NOTHING by doing what they did. At most? They lose listeners from Malaysia and earn a little bit less now," user @MercuryJax wrote.
"Malaysian queers have worked HARD to try and campaign for our rights, many of them are entirely volunteer-based and completely funded by other local queers," they added. "Matty pulling that stunt actively endanger all those efforts by shining a spotlight onto us."