The Good Vibes music festival, organized near Kuala Lumpur, announced on Saturday the cancellation of the event, after receiving a warrant from the authorities linked to a kiss between two men last night during a concert.
“The Ministry (of Communication and Digital) has underlined its unwavering stance against any party that defies, ridicules or contravenes Malaysian laws,” the organizers said in a statement released today, apologizing and promising to refund the price of tickets already purchased.
Good Vibes began this Friday and was scheduled to run until Sunday, with several concerts, including that of the British band The 1975, led by vocalist Matthew Healy.
During his performance, Healy gave a speech criticizing the Malaysian government and laws criminalizing same-sex relationships.
“We made a mistake when designing the points of our tour (…) It does not make sense that they invite a group like The 1975 to a country that tells us who we can have sex with,” said the vocalist, according to videos posted by festival attendees.
After the words of the band leader, the bassist, Ross MacDonald, approached and kissed Healy on the mouth.
One song later, the vocalist himself informed the audience that they had been told they had to leave the stage.
In 2019, Healy also kissed a male fan while performing in Dubai, a country that criminalizes same-sex couples and sexual acts.
After their concert in Malaysia, whose authorities are considering imposing a veto on the English band, The 1975 is scheduled to perform on Sunday in the Indonesian capital, another country that punishes LGBT relations, and two concerts next week in Singapore, also conservative.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
