Last summer, the members of the 1975 were hit with a $2.4 million lawsuit from Future Sound Asia, the organizers behind Malaysia's Good Vibes Festival. The suit stemmed from an onstage kiss between frontman Matty Healy and bassist Ross MacDonald during the band's 2023 headlining set, which they did in an effort to protest Malaysia's very restrictive anti-homosexuality laws. The 1975’s set got cut about 45 minutes short, the rest of the festival was cancelled, and Good Vibes' license was immediately revoked. Now, a London judge has ruled that the 1975 cannot be held liable, the AP reports.
Future Sound Asia's attorney said that authorities initially refused to let the 1975 perform at Good Vibes due to Matty Healy's open substance use (they also played the festival in 2016). The suit said that the band were allowed to headline in 2023 after agreeing to the terms, which barred "swearing, smoking, drinking, taking off clothes, or talking about religion and politics on stage" -- all things Healy is known to do.
But the 1975's lawyer Edmund Cullen argued the claim was an “illegitimate, artificial and incoherent” attempt “to pin liability on individuals,” because Future Sound Asia only had a contract with the band’s production company The 1975 Productions LLP -- not the band's members. Judge William Hansen agreed, saying 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.” He allowed the case to proceed against the production company, but ordered Future Sound Asia to front the $126,000 in legal costs.
Either way, the 1975 won't be playing in Malaysia any time soon; the AP also reports that the country's government has the band blacklisted.
