Talitha Tan, a singer and songwriter from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is one of the artists affected by the cancellation of Good Vibes Festival 2023.
The singer was slated to perform on Jul. 23, the last day of the three-day music festival.
Tan took to Instagram to share her disappointment and called out The 1975's Matty Healy for being "reckless" after he called the country's government a "bunch of f**king r*tards" and kissed his bandmate on stage on the first night of the festival.
Dedicated a song to late mum
Tan wanted to dedicate a set to her mother who passed in June 2023.
Prior to the cancellation, on Jul. 20, she wrote in an Instagram post that she was thankful to be performing at the festival again and that she wanted to make her late mum proud.
"I hope I’m able to sing you proud, mummy. I wish you could be there, i wish I could see you in the crowd smiling at me and getting all emotional because I’ll be singing YOUR SONG. I miss you so so much."
After the event was cancelled, Tan called the band out:
"Well, @the1975 , because of your reckless ignorance, selfishness & inability to adjust or respect different cultures (white saviour complex). The FIRST performance after my mum’s death, for me to be able to DEDICATE A FREAKING SET FOR HER. Is now cancelled."
"And now you can go back to your country thinking you did an 'amazing' thing for Malaysia’s 'young people'," she added.
Tan also felt sorry for the team Good Vibes Festival and other performers affected by the cancellation.
She also apologised to her mum and fans, and called Healy a "disappointment" in two Instagram stories.
Updated statement from organisation
Future Sound Asia, the event agency that created and organised Good Vibes Festival, stated in a media release that prior to the festival, The 1975's management reassured them that Healy and the band would "adhere to local performance guidelines".
However, Healy’s actions took them by surprise as he "did not honour these assurances".
They added:
"Healy's unprofessional behaviour and overt defiance of Malaysian laws and regulations are disturbing. Healy chose to utilise his performance as a platform to express his personal views, rather than delivering the quality show that his Malaysian fans were eagerly anticipating. This act is deeply unfair to his fans who were looking forward to enjoying a memorable music experience."
Image via Talitha/IG.