In July 2023, the 1975 headlined Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia has extremely strict laws banning all homosexuality, and in an effort to protest that, frontman Matty Healy made out with bassist Ross MacDonald onstage. It did not go over so well. In addition to the 1975’s set getting cut about 45 minutes short, the festival’s license was immediately revoked and the rest of the weekend was canceled, too. The 1975 also canceled subsequent shows in Indonesia and Taiwan. Good Vibes Festival organizers Future Sound Asia demanded the band pay over $2 million in damages or otherwise face legal action. That’s one expensive kiss! Now, those organizers are suing the 1975 and all its individual members for a total of $2.4 million for various antics stemming from the festival.

Variety reports that in a new lawsuit filed in the UK High Court, Future Sound Asia claim that the 1975 and their management were aware of the rules the band had to abide by in order to perform at Good Vibes Festival, at which they also performed in 2016 under similar rules. The prohibitions included swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol, taking off clothes, and talking about politics or religion. (I’ll take “The 1975 Song Topics” for $1,200, Alex.) The Malaysia Central Agency For The Application For Foreign Filming And Performance By Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) also issued a ban on “kissing, kissing a member of the audience, or carrying out such actions among themselves.” Regardless, the 1975 took their $350,000 paycheck to play the festival, agreeing to abide by those rules.

Future Sound Asia claim that the night before their 2023 Good Vibes performance, the 1975 decided to play “a completely different setlist” and ignore all the prohibitions, “with the intention of causing offense and breaching the regulations and the terms of the agreement.” The lawsuit accuses Healy of drinking and acting drunk, smoking cigarettes, appearing to “vomit on the stage and/or grunt and spit excessively including towards the audience,” giving a “profanity-laden speech,” and purposefully damaging the festival’s video drone. After PUSPAL officers ordered their show to stop, Healy was allegedly “very aggressive” before the band and their management “rushed to their hotels.”

The 1975 have not yet filed a defense to the lawsuit.