Denise Welch has supported her son Matty Healy after he kissed his bandmate to protest against Malaysia’s anti-LGBT+ laws.
His band The 1975 were headlining the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 21) when Matty, 34, slammed the Malaysian government in a rant on stage.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in prison while sodomy is also classified as a crime and can result in imprisonment.
READ MORE: Matty Healy pictured with mystery brunette despite Taylor Swift reunion rumours
LGBT+ people in the country face severe challenges and prejudices, as well as face regular discrimination by authorities.
The singer told fans he “made a mistake” by agreeing to perform at the festival, which has now been cancelled, because he didn’t “look into it” when booking the show.
(Image: PA)
“I don’t see the f***** point… of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” he said in footage captured by fans in the crowd.
He later told the audience: “Unfortunately, you don’t get a set of loads of uplifting songs because I’m f***ing furious and that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government.”
The musician then kissed the 1975 bassist Ross MacDonald on the lips, like he has done numerous times on the band’s ongoing Still… At Their Very Best tour.
After finishing their seventh song, the band made an abrupt exit from the stage as their performance was cut short, with the lead vocalist telling the crowd: “All right, we gotta go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, goodbye.”
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
A video of Matty kissing Ross has now circulated online with outlet Pop Crave reporting that the band have been “banned” from the country.
And Loose Women star Denise reposted it with the simple caption: “He’s my son,” alongside a rainbow emoji, which represents gay pride.
In a statement realised by the organisers of the festival, they revealed the rest of the it had been cancelled due to the “controversial conducts and remarks” by Matty on stage.
The statement said: “We deeply regret to announce that the remaining schedule of Good Vibes Festival 2023, planned for today and tomorrow has been cancelled following the controversial conduct and remarks by UK artist Matt Healy from the band The 1975.”
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil called the band’s performance “very disrespectful”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
