An onstage kiss between frontman Matty Healy and bassist Ross MacDonald had led the Malaysian Government to cancel the 2023 Good Vibes Festival. The festival organizers Future Sounds Asia, filed a lawsuit against the band in the UK High court. But last month the 1975 argued in their defense that they did not know this would make the government cancel the festival. Putting the blame on the festival organizers.
According to the 1975‘s lawyers, the festival organizers Future Sounds Asia should have known the band’s history of supporting LGBTQ rights. Their point being that, booking the band implied that they accepted the possible consequences including the revoked permit for continuing.
The 2023 Good Vibes Festival saw Healy speak out about Malaysia’s strict laws prohibiting same-sex relationships. After that he went on to kiss Ross McDonald. This led to some dire consequences. First thing the organizers cut their set short. Next, the Malaysian government stepped in to cancel the rest of the three day event. However, they allowed it to return this year.
Future sounds demanded a hefty £2 million in damages before they filed a lawsuit against the 1975 this summer. Their argument was that the band was well aware of the rules forbidding comments about politics and religion onstage. They also criticized their other behaviors like drinking alcohol, swearing or taking off clothes. The audience also saw Healy drink alcohol from a bottle that was kept onstage. The organizers also included this on their list of complaints, but the band’s lawyers later said in defense that the bottle did not have any alcohol but was just kept as a prop.
The 1975’s lawyers defended them for being “outspoken supporters of LGBTQ rights“
The band’s lawyers responded to this by saying that the 1975 has been well known for being “outspoken supporters of LGBTQ rights” and “provocative advocates of challenges to accepted to social norms.” It even mentioned previous gestures of protesting for LGBTQ rights that the band had put out during their shows. They also mentioned countries with similar anti LGBTQ laws. One instance being where Healy kissed a male fan on his lips during a performance in Dubai. Another incident was when they unfurled a pride flag in Russia. It also mentioned Healy speaking out against the state’s abortion ban policy in Alabama.
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The defense clearly stated that before Good Vibes 2023 “no performance by the band had been interrupted or curtailed by event organizers or local authorities because of the nature or content of the show or the on-stage conduct of any member of the band.” They also denied that the revocation of festival license was a foreseeable consequence of any of the band members’ conduct.
The defense did agree that Healy kissed. But it clearly stated that they did not plan it ahead of time. However Healy did have MacDonald‘s consent.
According to the Future Sounds‘ lawyers,“There is nothing in the pleading which has altered their view that the defendants are liable for the significant losses suffered by [Future Sound] as a result of the defendants’ unacceptable behavior at the Good Vibes Festival 2023, which caused the cancelation of the second and third days of the festival.“
