The 1975’s Matty Healy Posts Cryptic Comment After Muse Reportedly Change Setlist in Malaysia
Written by djfrosty on July 31, 2023
Less than two weeks after the Good Vibes Festival was canceled by Malaysian authorities following The 1975 singer Matty Healy’s same-sex onstage kiss with a bandmate, the band’s envelope-pushing singer seemed to have thoughts on another rock group’s actions in the country with notoriously strict anti-LGBTQ laws.
According to NME, Healy weighed in on Muse‘s reported decision to swap a track out of their set during a show at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (July 29) in order to avoid angering local authorities. In a since-vanished Instagram Story, Healy first reportedly posted a screenshot of Muse’s pre-order message that preached “Join the Resistance,” underlining the last two words in red while writing the word “sick” above them; Muse’s 2009 album was called The Resistance.
He then reposted a story about Muse spiking a song – reportedly dumping “We Are Fucking Fucked” from their 2022 Will of the People album in favor of 2009’s “Resistance” — based on an interview with one of the promoters behind Muse’s Asian tour, Hello Universe’s Adam Ashraf. Healy added the phrase “…oh” above that headline. Rojak Daily reported that Hello Universe was assured that “the [Muse] show will go on and as long as the band (Muse) behaves appropriately, everything should be smooth.”
Ashraf also reportedly said Muse’s management reached out to his company after the 1975 incident to ensure that Muse’s set would comply with Malaysia’s guidelines. “They called us shortly after the incident went global,” Ashraf said of the reported reaction to Healy speaking out against the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights in an onstage rant, followed by the lengthy kiss with bandmate Ross MacDonald. The 1975’s set ended a half hour early and Healy said his group had been banned from the country; The 1975 later cancelled the rest of their Asian tour.
A spokesperson for Muse had not returned a request for comment at press time on Healy’s post or the reported song swap.
The outspoken Healy’s pre-kiss speech launched a broadside against a country he said is repressing its LGBTQ+ citizens, and eventually led to the cancellation of the remainder of the festival. It may also lead to festival organizer Future Sound Asia considering legal action against The 1975 due to the heavy losses reportedly caused by the cancellation.
The song Muse reportedly spiked contains the lyrics, “We’re at death’s door/ Another world war/ Wildfires and earthquakes I foresaw/ A life in crisis, a deadly virus/ Tsunamis of hate are gonna drown us/ Ah, we are f—ing f–ed/ Ah, we are f—ing f—ed.” It was unclear at press time why that song would have run afoul of Malaysian authorities’ taste. Section 14 of the Malaysian penal code provides for a fine for anyone using “indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting words… [with] intent to provoke a breach of the peace.”