The 1975 is being sued after Matty Healy’s kiss of a bandmate shut down a music festival in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — The 1975 are being sued after Matty Healy kissed a bandmate at a protest on stage closed a music festival last year in Malaysia.

Healy used profanity when criticizing Malaysia’s stance against homosexuality before kissing bassist Ross MacDonald during the band’s headline performance at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and caning.

Festival organizer Future Sound Asia’s lawsuit seeks £1.9 million ($2.5 million) for breach of contract and losses. He filed the lawsuit against The 1975 Productions LLP and the four band members in London’s High Court on July 23, lawyer David Dinesh Mathew said Thursday.

The government criticized Healy’s conduct, blacklisted the band in the country and canceled the three-day festival. Some members of the LGBTQ+ community also criticized the band, saying Healy had disrupted the work of activists pushing for change and endangered the community.

In its lawsuit, FSA said the band previously performed at the festival in 2016 and had been reminded that performance rules included no swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol, talking about politics and religion, or indecent actions such as kissing.

Malaysian authorities initially refused to allow the band to perform amid reports of Healy’s drug addiction and subsequent recovery, but relented after the band promised that Healy would comply with all guidelines and regulations, the agency said. FSA.

The band’s fees for their hour-long show were $350,000, most of which was paid, but their conduct was a “clear and deliberate breach” of their contract, the FSA said.

Representatives for The 1975 did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit came after attempts to claim compensation from the band failed last year. Mathew said the defendants are expected to present their defense in September.

The band Canceled shows in Taiwan and Indonesia last year after the fiasco in the Malaysian capital.