Malaysian festival organiser to The 1975: pay us £2 million in damages or face legal action
Frontman Matty Healy criticized the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance onstage, prompting the government to cancel the rest of the three-day event
Malaysian festival organiser, Future Sound Asia, has ordered the 1975 to pay over £2 million in damages within seven days or face legal action in England after frontman Matty Healy called out Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws during Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur last month.
Healy’s harsh criticisms promoted the band’s set to be cut short and the government to cancel the remainder of the three-day event.
“I can confirm that my firm (Messrs Steven Thiru & Sudhar Partnership) issued a seven-day Letter of Claim to the UK band 1975 demanding for RM12.3million (£2,099,154.54) in damages on behalf of Future Sound Asia (FSA),” attorney David Matthew tells Rolling Stone. “The claim against The 1975 is essentially for breach of contract. They entered into a binding contract with Future Sound Asia to perform and the position of Future Sound Asia, among others, is that this contractual obligation was breached. Further, Mr. Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr. Healy and The 1975’s live performance ‘shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations’ during their set in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the assurance was ignored.”
FSA previously announced the Letter of Claim, but details of the document were not public at the time. Matthew stated that the seven-day notice was dated Aug. 7, giving the group until Aug. 14 to pay the damages before legal action is taken.
FSA’s threat of legal action comes after news broke that a group of Malaysian musicians and festival vendors were prepping a class action lawsuit against the 1975. While international acts were paid before their performances, local artists were reportedly receiving less favorable payment terms compared to international acts, and the suit aims to secure compensation for the losses incurred from the cancellation.
Matthew previously told Rolling Stone, “Mr. Healy’s representative categorically provided a pre-show written assurance that Mr. Healy and The 1975’s live performance shall adhere to all local guidelines and regulations during their set in Malaysia. Despite this, the assurance was ignored, and the band’s actions clearly contravened the agreement with Future Sound Asia. This led to the cancellation of the festival which, in turn, caused significant losses to Future Sound Asia.”