Connect with us

Published

on

The 1975 have said they have cancelled shows in Taiwan and Indonesia – a day after Malaysia banned it from performing there after its frontman kissed a male bandmate on stage and criticised the country’s anti-LGBT laws.

“Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows,” the British band said in a statement.

They did not elaborate further.

The band were headlining the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday when Matt Healy staged his protest.

The gig was cut short and the group were banned from performing in the Muslim-majority country, where homosexuality is a crime punishable by 20 years in prison.

The festival had been due to continue on Saturday and Sunday, but was cancelled by the Malaysian authorities as a result of Healy’s “controversial conduct and remarks”.

Other bands due to play over the weekend were The Strokes, who had been Sunday’s headline act, The Kid Laroi and Ty Dollar $ign.

More on The 1975

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

It comes after Healy hit out at the Malaysian government’s stance on LGBT rights in a profanity-strewn speech to the festival audience.

In footage posted on social media, he said the band had considered pulling out of the show but did not want to disappoint their fans.

He said: “I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it.

“I don’t see the f***** point… of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with.”

‘We just got banned’

Healy then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald as the band played the song I Like America & America Likes Me.

Soon afterwards Healy cut short the set, telling the crowd: “All right, we gotta go.

“We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, I’ll see you later.”

Matt Healy kisses bass player Ross MacDonald on stage. Pic: Lila.OnTour
Image:
Matt Healy kisses bass player Ross MacDonald on stage. Pic: Lila.OnTour

In a statement, festival organisers said the band’s set was stopped due to “non-compliance with local performance guidelines”.

Malaysia’s communications minister Fahmi Fadzil branded the band’s actions as “very disrespectful” and demanded a full report by the event’s organisers.

Read more:
Watchmaker sues Malaysian government for seizing rainbow Pride watches

‘Immediate cancellation directive’

In a statement the organisers 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.

“This decisions adheres to the immediate cancellation directive issued… by the Ministry of Communications and Digital.

“The ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.

“We sincerely apologise to all of our ticket holders, vendors, sponsors, and partners.”

Challenging anti-LGBT laws

Healy has previously used stage appearances to challenge anti-LGBT laws.

He was criticised for kissing a male fan at a 2019 concert in the United Arab Emirates, where homosexuality is outlawed and punishable by 10 years in jail.

Matt Healy pictured with bassist Ross MacDonald at a festival in Glasgow. Pic: Martin Bone/Shutterstock
Image:
Matt Healy pictured with bassist Ross MacDonald at a festival in Glasgow. Pic: Martin Bone/Shutterstock

Writing on Twitter at the time, Healy said: “Thank you Dubai you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”

The incident in Malaysia comes before crucial regional elections that see Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s progressive coalition go up against a mostly conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance, which has accused the government of not doing enough to protect the rights of Muslims in the multiracial country.

The premier has repeatedly said his government would uphold principles of Islam and would not recognise LGBT rights.

In May, Malaysian authorities confiscated watches made by the Swiss company Swatch from its “Pride collection”, which celebrates LGBT rights.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

Published

on

By

Harvey Weinstein to be tried for third time in New York after mistrial on rape charge

Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.

A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.

Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.

The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.

Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.

He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.

Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.

Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.

Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.

Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.

Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

TV presenter Jay Blades appears in court charged with two counts of rape

Published

on

By

TV presenter Jay Blades appears in court charged with two counts of rape

TV presenter Jay Blades has appeared in court charged with two counts of rape.

The 55-year-old appeared via video link at Telford Magistrates’ Court and spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth at the six-minute hearing on Wednesday.

Blades, from Claverley in Shropshire, was granted conditional bail to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on 10 September.

He was not required to enter pleas during his first appearance.

The presenter found fame on the furniture restoration programme The Repair Shop after he started presenting in 2017.

A furniture restorer, he was the face of the popular BBC show that featured people having their treasured objects repaired and rejuvenated until he stepped back from presenting the programme last year.

Read more from Sky News:
Backlash over police vans with facial recognition
New questions for driving theory tests

Blades was also the presenter of the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020 and took part in Celebrity Masterchef, Celebrity Bake Off, and Comic Relief.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Yungblud pays tribute to his hero Ozzy Osbourne as he opens up about ‘raw’ documentary Are You Ready, Boy?

Published

on

By

Yungblud pays tribute to his hero Ozzy Osbourne as he opens up about 'raw' documentary Are You Ready, Boy?

Yungblud has told Sky News he hopes he can keep Ozzy Osbourne’s “spirit and energy” alive after performing at the metal legend’s final gig.

The singer-songwriter paid tribute to his hero at the premiere of his upcoming documentary, Are You Ready, Boy?, which he admitted had been an “uncomfortable” watch as it shows him at his most vulnerable.

It gives fans a glimpse behind the curtain during the process of recording live tracks from his fourth studio album, Idols, which topped the charts in June.

On stage at Back To The Beginning. Pic: Kazuyo Horie
Image:
On stage at Back To The Beginning. Pic: Kazuyo Horie

Just a few weeks later, he was on stage at Back To The Beginning – Ozzy Osbourne‘s “final bow” reunion gig with Black Sabbath, held at Villa Park in Birmingham. The metal pioneer died less than three weeks later.

Yungblud, whose real name is Dom Harrison, performed a cover of Osbourne’s song Changes, and went on to release his version as a single, raising funds for the same charities as the concert.

Afterwards, Ozzy gifted him a cross which he keeps around his neck.

Ozzy on stage during his final performance. Pic: Ross Halfin
Image:
Ozzy on stage during his final performance. Pic: Ross Halfin

Ozzy is everything to me, always has been,” he says. “And to be able to go on stage and honour my hero and sing that song to him, without knowing that they were his final days, was everything to me.

“I will try my best to keep that spirit and keep that energy alive. I love that guy. I got to know him personally at the end and I love that family. I’ve got nothing but love, always.”

Now, Harrison is getting ready for the release of Are You Ready, Boy?, which was filmed at the famous Hansa Studios in Berlin, the birthplace of albums including David Bowie’s Heroes and U2’s Achtung Baby!.

Are You Ready, Boy? is released later in August
Image:
Are You Ready, Boy? is released later in August

Making music and all of his creative output he sees as “life or death”, he says in the film. “I mean, 100%,” he adds while on the red carpet. “I think that’s how I like to play, you know? I mean, red or black, every time.

“I love taking risks and this film is the most vulnerable I think I’ve ever been. It’s pretty uncomfortable for me to watch. I’ve seen it once, I’ll watch it tonight and probably never watch it again…

“I think in this day and age, it’s very easy for us to cut around things and make them palatable and digestible. I wanted to do something that would be raw and uncomfortable, and this is what came out.”

The film comes during an intense period for the star, who has just opened his own music venue and shop in London, and is also planning a world tour and the return of his own festival, Bludfest, in 2026.

Read more:
Metal, reality TV, and bats: The wild life of Ozzy Osbourne
Fans flood streets to pay respects to Ozzy in Birmingham

“I think it’s important for [fans] to know who I really am,” he says, of why he wanted to make the film. “I think 30 seconds on an Instagram video doesn’t quite cut it. It’s a fly-on-the-wall documentary… we didn’t have an overarching narrative at the start of it.

“I said, come with me for two weeks, roll the cameras and see what happens.”

The star also spoke about Bludfest, which he launched in 2024. The third event next year will be “bigger and better,” he says.

The festival was set up as he felt prices had become too expensive and he wanted to show it could be done differently.

“I had something to prove,” he says. “I think this festival was important… It made me sick, the price of tickets. And a lot of promoters, I don’t think, took me seriously.

“We made a massive statement and I will continue to do that. I love my community, I love my fanbase. They’re all I care about.”

Are You Ready, Boy? is out in cinemas on August 20 and 24

Continue Reading

Trending