Matty Healy and The 1975 are facing a lawsuit.
The organizer of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival has filed a lawsuit against the band and its members individually after the frontman’s protest against the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws during the event last summer.
The festival is seeking £1.9 million ($2.4 million) after the band’s protest led to the festival being shut down.
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In court documents filed by festival organizers Future Sound Asia in the U.K. High Court, they claim that The 1975 and their management were aware of the prohibitions they had to abide by, via Variety, adding that the band previously performed at the festival in 2016 and were told of the prohibitions then as well, including swearing, smoking and drinking on stage, taking off clothes and talking about politics or religion.
Guidelines by the Malaysia Central Agency for the Application for Foreign Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (PUSPAL) include a ban on “kissing, kissing a member of the audience or carrying out such actions among themselves.”
The band, who were paid $350,000 to perform, agreed to abide by the rules in order to participate.
The lawsuit states that PUSPAL initially rejected the band’s application to perform last summer due to a 2018 article about Matty’s drug addiction and recovery but the band appealed, promising he would adhere to “all local guidelines and regulations.”
The night before the festival, the lawsuit alleges The 1975 decided they “should not perform at the music festival” and discussed what action to take before changing their mind and agreeing to go ahead with the performance, deciding to do “a completely different setlist” and “act in way that were intended to breach the Guidelines” including Matty making a “provocative speech” and taking part in a “long pretend passionate embrace” between himself and bassist Ross MacDonald “with the intention of causing offence and breaching the regulations and the terms of the agreement.”
The band also allegedly planned to smuggle a bottle of wine onto the stage next to the main drum kit so Matty “could have easy access,” via Variety‘s report of the legal papers.
The lawsuit accuses him of drinking alcohol, acting “in a drunken way,” smoking cigarettes “appear[ing] to vomit on the stage and/or grunt and spit excessively including towards the audience,” delivering a “profanity-laden speech” and deliberatively damaging the festival organizers’ video drone.
Matty has since claimed he was “briefly imprisoned” by Malaysian authorities following his on-stage protest. The band have not yet filed in response to the lawsuit.
