For the first time, the 1975’s Matthew Healy has responded at length to critics of his on-stage kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald in Malaysia, where homosexuality is outlawed. “If you truly believe that artists have a responsibility to uphold their liberal virtues by using their massive platforms, then those artists should be judged by the danger and inconvenience that they face for doing so, not by the rewards they receive for parroting consensus,” Healy told the crowd at a concert in Fort Worth, Texas. He claimed he and one or more other band members were “briefly imprisoned” by Malaysian authorities, a possibility to which he alluded in August. Pitchfork has sought clarification on the circumstances from the band’s representatives.
After the 1975’s show, the Malaysian government canceled the remaining weekend of Good Vibes Festival. Festival organizers blamed the 1975 for the cancellation, ordering the band to pay approximately $2.6 million in damages, in a dispute that has not publicly been resolved. LGBTQ people in Malaysia had mixed responses, with some groups arguing that they, not Healy, would face government retaliation.
At the time, Julian Casablancas, who had been due to headline Good Vibes Festival with the Strokes, appeared to admit that the incident had raised his awareness of the situation in Malaysia but questioned Healy’s methods, according to Instagram screenshots shared on social media. Last night, Healy called the attitude of detractors like Casablancas a “bizarre mangling of colonial identity politics,” arguing that performers ought to defy governments with hostile policies. He added, “Those who took to Twitter to voice their outrage over the 1975’s unwillingness to cater to Malaysian customs would find it abhorrent if the 1975 were to acquiesce to, let’s say, Mississippi’s perspective on abortion or trans rights.”
Healy noted that he often kisses bandmates during 1975 shows, but did not acknowledge the festival’s claim that the band had misled them by agreeing to adhere to cultural customs. “The 1975 did not waltz into Malaysia unannounced,” Healy said. “They were invited to headline a festival by a government who had full knowledge of the band with its well publicized political views and its routine stage show.” He said that kissing MacDonald “was an ongoing part of the 1975 stage show, which has been performed many times prior.”
Healy later added, “It should be expected that if you invite dozens of Western performers into your country, they’ll bring their Western values with them. If the very same things which made you aware of them could land them in jail in your country, you’re not actually inviting them to perform. You’re indirectly commanding them to reflect your country’s policies by omission.”
Jazz Monroe
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