British pop-rock band The 1975 has cancelled upcoming concerts in Indonesia and Taiwan after its gig in Malaysia was controversially cut short.
Lead singer Matty Healy attacked Malaysia’s anti-LGBT laws on Friday and kissed bass player Ross MacDonald on stage - the band was swiftly banned from playing in the country.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in prison.
It is shunned - but not illegal - in most of Muslim-majority Indonesia.
But it is banned in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province.
The band said it had cancelled its Indonesia and Taiwan gigs “due to current circumstances”, without elaborating.
Taiwan is largely seen as a country that welcomes the LGBT community. It was the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.
In a statement shared by We The Fest, a music festival in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta where The 1975 were scheduled to perform on Sunday, the band said current circumstances made it “impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows”.
On Friday, on stage in Kuala Lumpur, lead singer Healy said: "I don’t see the [expletive] point, right, I do not see the point of inviting the 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.
“Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m [expletive] furious,” the frontman continued.
“And that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government. Because you’re young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.”
Healy then kissed his bandmate MacDonald as the band played the song I Like America & America Likes Me.
Shortly after the kiss Healy and the band walked off stage, roughly 30 minutes into the set. The singer told the audience: “Alright, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later.”
On Saturday, the festival’s organisers announced that the remaining line-up for the festival had been cancelled.
The decision was made after an “immediate cancellation directive” from Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital as part of its “unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule or contravene Malaysian laws”, a statement said.
Some of Malaysia’s LGBT community were frustrated by events on Friday and worried the spotlight on their community could lead to more stigma and discrimination.
Healy has previously used appearances on stage to highlight anti-LGBT laws.
Back in 2019 he invited a male fan on stage during a gig in Dubai. The incident attracted criticism in the country, where homosexuality is punishable by 10 years imprisonment.
Posting on Twitter after the show, Healy said: “Thank you Dubai you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”
Im surprised they’re skipping/cancelling Taiwan too as they’re quite LGBT friendly.
