The 1975 are being sued by the people behind the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia after Matty Healy kissed his bandmate Ross Macdonald in protest against the country’s hardline anti-LGBT laws.

The British band’s performance last July led to the festival’s cancellation, and The Kid Laroi and The Strokes did not perform. The FSA is now blaming The 1975 for the incident.

Future Sound Asia (FSA), organisers of the festival, said it had received ‘a pre-show written assurance’ that the band’s set would adhere to ‘all local regulations’.

During their set at the festival Kuala Lumpur in July, frontman Matty Healy made a speech about homosexuality, which is illegal in Malaysia, and kissed bassist Ross.

However, after failing to adhere to the laws, the band members have each been individually named in a lawsuit which seeks damages of $2.4m (£1.9m), because their actions led to the festival being cancelled.

In court documents obtained by Variety, the organisers claim that the 1975 and their wider team were made aware of the restrictions in place around their performance.

The 1975 performed in 2016 and the organisers have claimed they repeatedly reminded the band about the laws around swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol, removing their clothing and mentioning politics and religion. 

They have also reportedly insisted that the band was aware of rules put in place by the Malaysia Central Agency for the Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) that forbids ‘kissing, kissing a member of the audience or carrying out such actions among themselves’. 

As part of the $350,000 contract to play at the festival, the 1975 agreed to these restrictions.

The court filings also reportedly state that PUSPAL rejected the band’s application to perform at the festival last year because of Matty’s past publicised drug addiction, which they were able to overturn by agreeing to the regulations.

The suit claims that the band decided the night before they didn’t want to perform and then changed their minds again, deciding to perform with a new set list and acting in breach of the pre-agreed regulations.

The FSA alleged that Matty’s abusive language, equipment damage and indecent stage behaviour’ caused the event to be cancelled. 

In his speech before the controversial and passionate kiss, Healy, who is a long-time supporter of gay rights, said: ‘I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.’

He added: ‘I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it.

‘Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f****** furious and that’s not fair on you, because you’re not representative of your government because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool.’

After the gig, the FSA issued a statement saying that it has issued the band with a letter of claim calling for The 1975 to ‘acknowledge their liability and compensate FSA for damages incurred’ – though the amount was not specified. 

In a further statement, lawyers for the organisation said it was demanding £2,099,154.54 in damages.

A source close to the band told MailOnline: ‘Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and the community.’ 

‘The claim against The 1975 is essentially for breach of contract,’ said David Mathew, legal counsel for FSA. 

‘They entered into a binding contract with Future Sound Asia to perform and the position of Future Sound Asia, among others, is that this contractual obligation was breached. 

‘Further, Mr Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr Healy and The 1975’s live performance “shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations” during their set in Malaysia. 

‘Unfortunately, the assurance was ignored.’

Mr Mathew added: ‘Future Sound Asia is taking action in response to The 1975’s breach of contract.

‘Their actions have had repercussions on local artists and small businesses, who relied on the festival for creative opportunities and their livelihoods. 

‘In this connection, Future Sound Asia wishes to move forward in a way that will give the Malaysian community affected some closure.’ 

The FSA previously said if the final warning is not addressed, then legal proceedings in English courts will begin. 

Following the incident the Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Digital said The 1975 had been blacklisted under a body that oversees foreign artists playing in Malaysia. 

The 1975 then cancelled two tour dates, at the We The Fest in Jakarta, Indonesia, and at the Taipei Music Centre in Taiwan, in Asia following the event. 

The on-stage protest was not a first for Healy, who kissed a male fan at a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, which also has tough anti-LGBTQ laws. 

Vowing swift action after the event, Malaysian Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil posted a news report about the kiss and called it a ‘very rude act’.

He later ordered the ‘immediate cancellation’ of the three-day festival after meeting with organisers.

‘Never touch the sensitivities of the community, especially those that are against the manners and values of the local culture,’ he said in a subsequent tweet.

In a statement also posted to Twitter, the festival confirmed the cancellation had been at the direction of the communications ministry ‘following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy’.

Representatives for 1975 have been contacted.

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Source: CNN