A High Court in Malaysia has heard that the members of The 1975 should not be held personally responsible for the on-stage kiss that led to a festival being shut down.
The incident took place at the 2023 edition of the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia, when frontman Matty Healy and bassist Ross MacDonald used their set to share a kiss while on stage. Homosexuality is a crime in the country and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
During the set in Kuala Lumpur, the singer also gave a speech calling out the Malaysian government for its hardline stance on gay rights. “I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” he said. “I am sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government, but your government are a bunch of fucking r*****s and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back.”
The remainder of the festival was axed, and after the incident, The 1975 were banned from performing in Malaysia. They also faced a class action lawsuit from Malaysian artists and vendors over the cancellation.
On top of that, the move divided many fans and some in the country suggested that Healy’s actions would make life for the LGBTQ+ community in the country worse.
Last summer news arose that the band were being sued for $2.4million (£1.9 million) by the festival organisers, Future Sound Asia (FSA). This came as the latter claimed that The 1975 Productions LLP breached their contract and the four band members were in breach of a duty of care (via Independent).
Now, in a new hearing at the High Court, the band’s representative Edmund Cullen has called the claim an “illegitimate, artificial and incoherent” attempt to “pin liability on individuals”.
He also said it was “quite bizarre” to hold the members themselves liable when the organisers had a contract with the band’s company and asked for the court to strike out claims against the individual members.
In response, Andrew Burns – who is representing the FSA – claimed that the members “deliberately behaved in a way to challenge and provoke the Malaysian authorities”, and as a result, the festival has “substantial losses”.
He also highlighted that the members agreed to not swear, smoke, drink, take off clothes or talk about religion and politics on stage when they first performed in 2016, but broke these rules with their 2023 appearance.
As well as the kiss, Burns claimed that the band “smuggled” a bottle of wine on stage and delivered a “second-rate set of songs” in an attempt to “punish and upset the Malaysian audience and authorities”.
“The band should be held liable as the loss was caused by their intentional misbehaviour breaching the express assurances that were given which gave rise to their personal duties of care and their responsibility for their own personal behaviour,” he added in a written submission.
The hearing is expected to conclude later today (February 19).
In September 2024, the band spoke out about the incident and said that they did not realise that their actions would lead to the remainder of the festival being cancelled. Before then, the Malaysian government announced concert organisers must have a “kill switch” to cut off performances that break guidelines.
In May last year, Good Vibes Festival announced that it would be returning for the 2024 edition. It featured performances from the likes of J Balvin, Peggy Gou, Joji, BIBI and more, as well as returning Malaysian acts who had their performances cut from the 2023 event.
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