The 1975 cancel concert in Indonesia following outcry in Malaysia over kiss between men on stage

2023-07-23 10:19:44
Matty Healy of indie-rock band The 1975 at the Reading Music Festival in England on Sunday August 28, 2022. SCOTT GARFITT / SCOTT GARFITT/INVISION/AP

British indie-rock band The 1975 canceled a planned concert in Indonesia on Sunday (July 23rd) after prompting the cancellation of a festival in neighboring Malaysia for an onstage kiss between singer and bassist.

On Friday, the group had to cut short their concert at the Good Vibes festival in Sepang, near Kuala Lumpur, after a kiss on stage between singer Matty Healy and bassist Ross MacDonald. Earlier on stage, Matty Healy had vehemently denounced the anti-LGBT + laws in force in Malaysia, where homosexuality is illegal and can lead to prison sentences. “I don’t see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with”had declared the singer.

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Malaysia’s communications and digital minister called the kiss a “very rude” before ordering “immediate cancellation” the rest of the Good Vibes festival, which was to last three days. “Never touch the sensitivities of our community, especially those that go against the ways and values ​​of the local culture”, he added on Twitter. In a statement also posted on Twitter, the festival confirmed that the cancellation was decided by the ministry. “following controversial conduct and remarks by British artist Matty Healy”.

In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world, legislation has never criminalized homosexuality, but local ordinances that discriminate against LGBT+ people do exist. Several events have been canceled there for several years following pressure from the opposition. Political figures and conservative groups attempt to criminalize homosexuality, and same-sex couples are often discriminated against there.

In its press release, The 1975 also announced the cancellation of its concert scheduled for Tuesday in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, an island at the forefront of the movement for LGBT + rights in Asia, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2019.

The World with AFP