After a lot of controversies, Matty has finally decided to defend the incident of kissing his bandmate during his performance in Malaysia. He delivered a 10-minute speech about it after his performance at a 1975 concert in Dallas, Texas. Healy said that he has been asked not to talk about the incident since then but then he read a pre-prepared speech from his phone.
The singer intelligently addressed the criticism of his conduct onstage at the Malaysian festival and then he attacked the anti-LGBT laws which are widely prevailing in the country, and soon enough he kissed his bandmate. A kiss can make a government angry and this incident proved that the Malaysian Government canceled the rest of the show after the incident.
What is even more astonishing is that the organizers of Good Vibes Festival have even asked for compensation since The 1975 and the LGBTQ community whom Matty supported has also criticized his actions calling it a display of a “white savior complex”.
Defending his actions, Healy said that the band “did not waltz into Malaysia” but had been invited by the organizers who are well aware of the band’s political views and the types of shows they conduct. He further said that the kiss was not “a stunt simply meant to provoke the government” but an “ongoing part of the 1975 stage show which had been performed many times prior”. He also took a moment to address the online anger over the performance as “liberal outrage”. Criticism for the band will be “remaining consistent”.
Back in July, some of the Malaysians said that they felt like Matty’s actions were a reflection of patronizing Western attitudes to Asia. Others shared that this could be a high-profile incident that can be used as a rebellion against LGBT repression in Malaysia. In this country, homosexuality is still an alien concept and a punishable action by 20 years in prison.
Healy also referred to the country’s strict anti-LGBT laws and how the band was “briefly imprisoned” after that incident. He further added that the kiss was a “performative gesture of allyship” and “performing is a performer’s job”. He further added that the organizers should not invited them to perform because they were expecting the band to self-censor themselves. He said to the Dallas crowd, “It should be expected that, if you invite dozens of Western performers into your country, they’ll bring their Western values with them.”
Referring to the strict laws, Healy said that critics “would find it abhorrent if the 1975 were to acquiesce to… Mississippi’s perspective on abortion or trans laws”.
However, this is not the first time Healy has been criticized for his onstage actions as last week he had to apologize for his “actions that have hurt some people” in Los Angeles. During his performance at the Hollywood Bowl, the singer said he has shown his ‘exaggerated versions’ “on other stages be it in print or on podcasts… in an often misguided attempt at fulfilling the kind of character role of the 21st-century rock star”.
