Photo: RICH POLK
British pop rock band The 1975 are being sued by the organisers of a Malaysian music festival which was shut down after the group's frontman kissed a male band mate onstage and criticised the country's anti-LGBTQ laws.
Future Sounds Asia is suing The 1975 and its individual members for 1.9 million pounds (NZ$4.1 million), according to UK High Court documents reported by the entertainment publication Variety.
In July 2023, Malaysian authorities halted the three-day Good Vibes Festival after videos widely shared on social media showed the band's Matty Healy kissing bassist Ross MacDonald.
According to Variety, documents lodged with the court claim that The 1975 were aware of prohibitions on certain behaviour while performing, especially since they had performed at the festival in 2016.
The band had reportedly agreed to abide by the restrictions and were paid $US350,000 ($587,000) to perform in 2023.
Variety reports that the lawsuit claims Healy broke the conditions of performing at the festival, including using profane language, drinking alcohol on stage, making a "provocative speech" and taking part in a "long pretend passionate embrace" with his band mate.
Future Sound Asia did not respond to the ABC's request for comment on the matter.
The 1975 told the BBC they had "nothing to add at this time".
At the festival in 2023, Healy told the crowd in Kuala Lumpur he had "made a mistake" by agreeing to play in Malaysia.
"When we were booking shows I wasn't looking into it," he said.
Healy later cut the set short, telling the crowd: "All right, we gotta go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I'll see you later."
Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and corporal punishment, and human rights groups have warned intolerance of sexually and gender diverse people is growing.
The ABC previously reported that many LGBTQ Malaysians said Healy's stunt had done more harm than good.
Following the incident, The 1975 cancelled subsequent shows in Taiwan and Indonesia.
Prior to launching legal action in the UK, Future Sound Asia previously sent a letter demanding 12.3 million ringgit ($4.1 million) compensation over alleged breach of contract.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said LGBTQ people should not be harassed, but ruled out improving rights protections for the marginalised community.
Ibrahim was himself jailed twice under Malaysia's anti-sodomy legislation, in what critics argue were politically motivated prosecutions.
He was granted a royal pardon in 2018 and has been prime minister since 2022.
Last year, the Swiss watchmaker Swatch sued the Malaysian government after authorities seized rainbow-coloured LGBTQ pride-themed watches from its local stores in a series of raids.
The country's interior ministry warned that anybody wearing or selling the watches could be sentenced to three years in prison or fined $6,650.
This story was first published by the ABC.
