KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 – The 1975 Group was today blacklisted from performing in Malaysia by the Committee for Foreign Film Shooting and Foreign Artist Performances (JK-PUSPAL), which is under the Ministry of Communications and Digital.
Admonishing the group for its highly disrespectul, tasteless and arrogant behavior during the Good Vibes live show in Sepang Friday night, JK-PUSPAL in a statement today, said the behaviour of the foreign artist group was highly regrettable and was in violation of Malaysia’s laws.
During the show, lead singer Matty Healy used profanities as he attacked the country’s anti-LGBT laws and went on to kiss bass player Ross MacDonald.
A short while later, he announced that the show had been banned and he walked out of the stage with his band members.
There was mixed reaction from the Malaysian crowd, ranging from boos to calls for them to return to the stage.
In its statement, JK-PUSPAL said it has also filed a police report against the artist and the organizers for their negligence and failure to comply with the conditions set by PUSPAL.
When the application was made, the organizers gave a guarantee that they would be fully responsible for the artist’s performance.
In a posting earlier today, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said he had met up with the organisers of the Good Vibes Festival 2023, Future Sound Asia, following the rude and disrespectful behaviour of the artist Friday night.
He said the Malaysian government would not tolerate any violation of the country’s laws.
He had also called for the immediate cancellation of the remaining festival that was supposed to take place on Saturday as well as Sunday, July 23.
Fahmi also urged the organisers to look into compensation for those who had purchased tickets for the show.