The British band The 1975 sparked controversy at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival in July 2023 when lead singer Matt Healy kissed bassist Ross MacDonald on stage as a protest against Malaysia’s anti-homosexuality laws.
This action led Malaysian authorities to shut down the festival and sparked anger from various groups, including LGBTQ+ organizations who criticized the band for potentially endangering the local LGBTQ+ community and undermining years of activist work.
Nearly two years later, Future Sound Asia (FSA), the festival organiser, has lost part of their legal case against the band.
On February 24, London Judge William Hansen ruled that the individual band members cannot be held personally liable for losses incurred from the festival shutdown. The judge stated that the claims against the band members were “bad as a matter of law and that there is no good reason why the matter should go to trial.”
Judge Hansen added that it would be unfair and unreasonable to impose liability on the band members as they allegedly did not know the details of Malaysian laws and performance regulations.
FSA was ordered to pay RM557,000 (£100,000) in legal costs, though the lawsuit against The 1975 Productions LLP is allowed to proceed.
The band’s attorney had argued that the suit should target the company and not the musicians individually, as FSA only had a contract with the band’s company. However, FSA’s lawyer, Andrew Burns, countered that the band deliberately behaved in a way “to challenge and provoke the Malaysian authorities” despite having played at the same festival in 2016 and presumably being aware of the rules.
