JAKARTA, Indonesia — British pop rock band The 1975 introduced on Sunday it was canceling its exhibits in Jakarta and Taipei after the Malaysian authorities reduce brief a music pageant within the wake of the band’s lead singer slamming the nation’s anti-gay legal guidelines and kissing a male bandmate throughout their efficiency.
The 1975 was scheduled to have a efficiency at We The Fest, Indonesia’s annual summer season music pageant, in Jakarta on Sunday night time, a part of their 2023 Asia tour.
“The 1975 remorse to announce that their forthcoming exhibits in Jakarta and Taipei will now not be going forward as deliberate,” the group mentioned in an announcement posted on We The Fest’s social media platforms on Sunday. They added that the choice was not made flippantly “however sadly as a result of present circumstances, it’s inconceivable to proceed with the present exhibits.”
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, doesn’t prohibit LGBTQ rights besides within the conservative Aceh province.
In the course of the band’s set on the Good Vibes Pageant, Matty Healy, the lead vocal of The 1975, used profanity in his speech criticizing the Malaysian authorities’s stance in opposition to homosexuality, earlier than kissing bass participant Ross MacDonald. Footage of the incident was posted on social media and sparked a backlash in predominantly Muslim Malaysia.
Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil slammed Healy’s conduct late Friday and mentioned in a Fb publish that homosexuality is against the law within the nation punishable by as much as 20 years in jail and caning.
After assembly the pageant organizers Saturday, Fahmi mentioned the pageant, which was scheduled to go on this weekend, could be canceled. “There can be no compromise with any occasion that challenges, belittles or violates Malaysian legal guidelines,” he mentioned within the assertion.
The company answerable for approving performances by overseas artists mentioned it was dissatisfied with the band’s conduct, calling it “an insult and disrespecting the legal guidelines of the nation.” It mentioned the group can be blacklisted from performing in Malaysia.
It wasn’t the primary time that Healy used the stage to defend lesbian and homosexual rights. In 2019, he kissed a male fan throughout a live performance within the United Arab Emirates, which additionally outlaws gay acts, in keeping with media experiences.
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