July 24, 2023, 04:08 PM
The 1975 have cancelled its shows in Indonesia and Taiwan following its recent controversy at Malaysia's Good Vibes Festival.
The band was originally slated to headline We The Fest in Jakarta on Jul. 23, 2023, and perform a standalone concert at Taipei on Jul. 25, 2023.
In an official statement posted online via We The Fest and Live Nation Taiwan, the band shared that they didn't take the decision to cancel the shows lightly, and that they'd been "eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei".
— Live Nation Taiwan (@LiveNationTW) July 23, 2023
Unfortunately, the statement continued, it was "impossible" for The 1975 to carry forth with the scheduled shows due to "current circumstances".
Current circumstances
The English band found itself embroiled in controversy after its lead singer Matty Healy got a little too demonstrative during a heated spiel at their concert at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It was somewhat on-brand for a 1975 concert when Healy got into "a bit of a drunken rant".
However, his rant quickly ventured into forbidden territory when he started bringing up Malaysian politics, calling the local government "a bunch of f*cking retards" for its anti-LGBT policies.
He then had a bit of a make-out session -- onstage kiss -- with his very male bandmate Ross MacDonald, which resulted in the band being blacklisted from the country and the rest of the festival being cancelled.
Healy and Taylor Swift were reportedly romantically-linked in May 2023, but have split.
They are reportedly long-time friends and have gone back to being friends.
Top images via Victoria Neo and We The Fest
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