After stage kiss in Malaysia: Matty Healy does not have to be personally liable for concert cancellation

In July 2023, Matty Healy (35), frontman of The 1975, kissed his bandmate Ross MacDonald (35) in protest on stage at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur. The "good vibes" were then over: the organizer canceled the following festival days and sued the musicians for 1.9 million pounds (around 2.2 million euros) in damages for breach of contract. Now a London court has ruled that The 1975 band members cannot be held personally responsible for the music festival's losses. This is reported by the "Associated Press" .

The kiss between the two men caused an uproar during and after the performance. In Malaysia, homosexual acts are illegal and can be punished with twenty years in prison. This made frontman Matty Healy angry: "I don't see the point in inviting The 1975 to a country where we are told who we can have sex with. Unfortunately, you won't get a set with lots of uplifting songs because I'm fucking angry," said the singer.

"This is not fair to you. Because you are not representative of your government. You are young people and I am sure that many of you are gay and progressive and cool," he continued his speech on stage and then kissed his bassist, after which the concert was canceled. One day later, the entire festival was canceled.

The festival's organizers justified their subsequent lawsuit by saying that The 1975's management had assured them that the band would abide by the conservative country's rules and the event's guidelines. The band's lawyer argued that the band members could not be held individually responsible for the incident. The judge ruled that the case against The 1975 Productions LLP could continue. However, he ordered the festival organizer Future Sound Asia to pay £100,000 in legal fees.

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