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The 1975 Deny Responsibility for Malaysian Festival Cancellation After Onstage Kiss

The 1975 denied responsibility for the cancellation of a Malaysian festival following an onstage kiss between members Matty Healy and Ross MacDonald.

The English band argued that they didn’t know the kiss would lead to the festival being canceled in a defense filed last month in the U.K. High Court that was just made public (via Law360). Instead, the 1975’s lawyers argued that festival organizers, Future Sounds Asia, should’ve known the band’s history of supporting LGBTQ rights onstage and that by booking the group, they “voluntarily accepted” the possible consequences, including a revoked permit. Healy was accused of breaking these rules not only with the kiss and his statements about Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws, but also allegedly drinking a bottle of wine that had been placed onstage.

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