The 1975, a British band, cancelled their performances in Taiwan and Indonesia, claiming that it was “impossible to proceed” with the Asia tour dates the day after being banned from performing in Malaysia.
The Malaysian government slammed the band for being “extremely rude” after vocalist Matty Healy kissed his bandmate, Ross McDonald on stage and condemned the country’s anti-LGBT+ laws, which consider gay acts illegal.
The pop-rock band issued a statement explaining that it was “unfortunately impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows due to the current circumstances.”
The 1975 were one of the international headliners at a three-day music festival in Kuala Lumpur, but their set on Friday was cut short, and the event as a whole was ultimately cancelled.
Considering that homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, government officials in Malaysia declared that the band would never be allowed to perform there.
Malaysia’s communications minister declared that the rest of the festival will be cancelled. Following the incident during The 1975’s concert, the Good Vibes Festival issued an official statement confirming its cancellation.
Healy replied to the news on his Instagram Story on 22nd of July 2023 posting the festival’s cancellation announcement and commenting, “Ok well, why don’t you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years. It’s not as simple as it appears.”
The 1975, who were scheduled to headline the third day of We The Fest Jakarta, Indonesia on the 23rd of July 2023, said on the following day that they had postponed their remaining Asian dates “due to current circumstances.”
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According to a statement provided to We The Fest Jakarta, The 1975 stated, “The band never took the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei, but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows.”
We The Fest has also revealed that ASAP Ferg and Sheila On 7 have been added to the festival’s lineup. Similar remarks were made by Live Nation Taiwan, who also mentioned that the details of the refund will be released on Monday, 24th of July 2023.
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