Malaysia bans The 1975 after Matty Healy's onstage kiss with male bandmate, cancels three-day festival

The British pop rock band, The 1975, had their set abruptly cut short at the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night, following an onstage incident where frontman Matty Healy kissed bassist Ross MacDonald and criticised Malaysia's anti-LGBT laws.

Homosexuality is considered a crime in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation, and several human rights groups have expressed concern over the growing intolerance towards the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

In viral videos, Healy was seen passionately kissing his bandmate Ross MacDonald after delivering a speech, condemning the Malaysian government's stance on homosexuality. Healy stated that the band had contemplated cancelling their appearance but did not want to disappoint their fans in Malaysia.

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Healy expressed frustration at the restrictions imposed on their performance by stating, "I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn't looking into it. I don't see the f*****g point ... of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with."

"I’m sorry if that offends you, and you’re religious… but your government are a bunch of fucking r***** I don’t care anymore. If you push, I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the fucking mood," he added.

Subsequently, Healy decided to cut short the set, announcing to the crowd, "All right, we gotta go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I'll see you later."

Good Vibes festival organizers released a statement citing "non-compliance with local performance guidelines" as the reason for stopping The 1975's set prematurely.

Malaysia's communications minister, Fahmi Fadzil, condemned the band's performance on Twitter, labelling it "very disrespectful." He expressed intentions to engage local authorities and summon the festival's organisers for an explanation.

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

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