Attorneys for The 1975 have been working with organizers of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival.
Future Sound Asia (FSA) organized the festival, which was abruptly cancelled by the Malaysian government after frontman Matty Healy kissed the band’s drummer on-stage. Malaysia has strict laws against homosexuality, which Healy addressed on stage before the kiss. As a result of the cancellation, lawyers for the festival reached out to the band to demand they be compensated.
FSA sent a seven-day Letter of Claim to the band to begin proceedings in English court. Now it appears as though attorneys for The 1975 are cooperating with FSA attorneys to reach a legal resolution to the dispute.
“We are able to confirm that our lawyers have received communication from the band’s solicitors and we are continuing to pursue the matter, as per our earlier statement,” says David Matthew, legal counsel for FSA in this matter. “The dispute resolution process is now in progress and on advice of legal counsel, we have no further comment at present.”
The Letter of Claim says Healy’s on-stage incident was a breach of contract as the band provided a pre-show written assurance that he and all members of the band would “adhere to all local guidelines and regulations” while performing in the country.
Despite giving that assurance, Healy protested the Malaysian government’s stance on homosexuality, which led to the cancellation of the festival and resulted in significant losses for FSA and others who were relying on income from the three-day music festival.
During a concert in Hawaii, Healy addressed the concert and the criticism he received from Malaysia’s LGBTQ+ community. “Doing the right thing often requires quite a lot of sacrifice and very little reward. And being seen to do the right thing requires very little sacrifice, and that’s when you get all the rewards. Me and Ross nearly shaved our heads because we thought we were going to prison for being f*gs.”