The 1975 Not Held Liable for Malaysian Music Festival Losses After Onstage Gay Kiss ArticlePure

• The 1975’s band members will not be held personally responsible for a Malaysian music festival’s losses
• The ruling, on Monday, Feb. 24, comes after lead singer and rhythm guitarist Matty Healy kissed bandmate Ross MacDonald onstage in July 2023
• The organizer of Good Vibes Festival was seeking 1.9 million pounds ($2.4 million)

The 1975 will not be held responsible for a Malaysian music festival’s losses after lead singer and rhythm guitarist Matty Healy kissed bandmate Ross MacDonald in July 2023 in the country, where homosexuality is illegal.

On Monday, Feb. 24, a London judge ruled that the London alt-rockers would not be personally held liable for the damages that Good Vibes Festival is seeking, per the Associated Press,

In July 2024, the “About You” group was sued by the organizer of Good Vibes Festival for 1.9 million pounds ($2.4 million) in the wake of the festival’s cancellation after Healy’s kiss with MacDonald, per Variety.

According to the AP, Future Sound Asia (FSA) sued The 1975 Productions LLP for a “breach of contract and said its four members owed a duty of care.”

However, the band’s lawyer argued that the company should be held liable, not the musicians individually.

Judge William Hansen ruled that the case could proceed against the company, but ordered FSA to pay 100,000 pounds ($126,000) in legal fees.

Band attorney Edmund Cullen had argued the claim was an “illegitimate, artificial and incoherent” attempt “to pin liability on individuals” because FSA only had a contract with the band’s company.

A rep for The 1975 declined comment on the situation.

During The 1975’s performance at Good Vibes Festival in the capital city of Malaysia, Healy, 35,expressed his frustrations about the country’s LGBTQ+ restrictions and knowingly inviting the band to perform there.

“I made a mistake when we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the f—ing point, right? I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and telling us who we can have sex with,” he told the crowd.

“And I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious, but your government … I don’t care anymore. If you push I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the f—ing mood. I’m not in the f—ing mood anymore.”

(In Malaysia, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment, while gender changes and non-conformity are not recognized, according to Equaldex and Outright International.)

The frontman continued, “Unfortunately you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f—ing furious. 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 noted that The 1975 had originally backed out of their headlining festival slot before deciding to proceed.

“I pulled this show yesterday and we had a conversation, we said, ‘You know what, we can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government.’ But I’ve done this before,” he said, referring to a 2019 incident in Dubai.

“I’ve gone to a country where it’s f—ing ridiculous, it’s f—ing ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that [points to crotch] and that [points to mouth]. And if you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f— off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good. And I’m f—ed off,” Healy concluded.

Then MacDonald, 35, walked over to Healy and gave him a long kiss as their 2018 track “I Like America & America Likes Me” played.

After finishing the song and playing one more, Healy announced the band had to leave as they “just got banned from Kuala Lumpur.”

At the time, Good Vibes Festival did not confirm the banishment, but did say in a statement that they “regret The 1975 had to be cut short due to non-compliance with local performance guidelines” before offering Friday concertgoers free entry to the rest of the festival that weekend.

The following day, Good Vibes Festival announced that the rest of the event had been canceled “following the controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy from the band The 1975.”

Healy regrammed the announcement, writing, “OK well why don’t you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years. Not as easy as it looks.”

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Meanwhile, a source close to The 1975 told PEOPLE, “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.”

This wasn’t the first time the rockers have garnered attention for a same-sex kiss on stage in a country with anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Back in August 2019, Healy had a “consensual” kiss with a male fan at one of The 1975’s concerts in Dubai — a city where homosexual acts are illegal and can be punishable by jail time and fines.