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A three-day music festival in Malaysia has been cancelled by the authorities after the frontman of The 1975 kissed a male bandmate on stage – and criticised the country’s anti-LGBT laws.

The British 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.

On Saturday, the festival organisers announced the whole event had been cancelled as a result of Healy’s “controversial conduct and remarks”.

The statement said government had “underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws”.

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.

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

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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.”

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.

The festival had been due to continue on Saturday and Sunday, but was dramatically halted at the direction of the government.

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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.

“We are aware of the time, energy, and efforts you have put into making this festival a success, and we value your steadfast support.

“We will update you on refund mechanics as soon as possible.

“We appreciate your understanding and continued support during this challenging time.”

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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.

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.

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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

Video footage has shown the moment singer and actress Ariana Grande was accosted by a fan at a film premiere.

Ms Grande was in Singapore for the debut of Wicked: For Good when the incident unfolded on Thursday.

The video captured the moment the fan scaled the barricade and pushed past photographers towards Ms Grande.

Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

He then threw his arms around her, before co-star Cynthia Erivo intervened and security swoops in to stop him.

The man, now identified as Johnson Wen, 26, is reportedly a notorious red carpet crasher.

Wen, who has since been charged with being a public nuisance, goes by the nickname Pyjama Man, and gloated as he shared footage of the intrusion online.

“Dear Ariana Grande, Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You,” he wrote on Instagram.

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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

In video stories posted to the site beforehand, he was seen at the Universal Studios venue, revealing his intentions.

In one, he said: “I feel like I’m in a dream, that’s my best friend, Ariana Grande, and I’m gonna meet her. I’ve been dreaming about that.”

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TV and film’s obsession with upper-class actors

The Australian has ambushed several performers on stage, according to reports, including Katy Perry and The Chainsmokers at concerts in Sydney, and The Weeknd in Melbourne.

It has been reported that Wen intends to plead guilty and that he could face a fine of more than £1,000.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good
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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good

Ms Grande took a moment to gather herself in the aftermath of the intrusion, visibly shocked by the incident.

She didn’t address the incident on her own Instagram, but shared some photos with the caption “thank you, Singapore”, adding “we love you”.

The singer battled post-traumatic stress disorder after her 2017 concert in Manchester was bombed, leaving 22 people dead.

She told Vogue in 2018: “It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it’s a real thing.

“I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well. Time is the biggest thing.

“I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn’t even say anything. I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.”

In the same interview she also addressed her own anxiety, saying she has “always” had it.

Ms Grande plays Galinda Upland in Wicked: For Good, the character who becomes Glinda the Good Witch. Ms Erivo plays Elphaba, the character who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The film is released in UK cinemas on 21 November.

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can’t tell the difference, says report

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can't tell the difference, says report

Do you care if the music you’re listening to is artificially generated?

That question – once the realm of science fiction – is becoming increasingly urgent.

An AI-generated country track, Walk My Walk, is currently sitting at number one on the US Billboard chart of digital sales and a new report by streaming platform Deezer has revealed the sheer scale of AI production in the music industry.

Deezer’s AI-detection system found that around 50,000 fully AI-generated tracks are now uploaded every day, accounting for 34% of all daily uploads.

File pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

The true number is most likely higher, as Deezer’s AI-detection system does not catch every AI-generated track. Nor does this figure include partially AI-generated tracks.

In January 2025, Deezer’s system identified 10% of uploaded tracks as fully AI-generated.

Since then, the proportion of AI tracks – made using written prompts such as “country, 1990s style, male singer” – has more than tripled, leading the platform’s chief executive, Alexis Lanternier, to say that AI music is “flooding music streaming”.

More on Artificial Intelligence

‘Siphoning money from royalty pool’

What’s more, when Deezer surveyed 9,000 people in eight countries – the US, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Netherlands, Germany and Japan – and asked them to detect whether three tracks were real or AI, 97% could not tell the difference.

That’s despite the fact that the motivation behind the surge of AI music is not in the least bit creative, according to Deezer. The company says that roughly 70% of fully AI-generated tracks are what it calls “fraudulent” – that is, designed purely to make money.

“The common denominator is the ambition to boost streams on specific tracks in order to siphon money from the royalty pool,” a Deezer spokesperson told Sky News.

“With AI-generated content, you can easily create massive amounts of tracks that can be used for this purpose.”

File pic: Reuters
Image:
File pic: Reuters


The tracks themselves are not actually fraudulent, Deezer says, but the behaviour around them is. Someone will upload an AI track then use an automated system – a bot – to listen to a song over and over again to make royalties from it.

Even though the total number of streams for each individual track is very low – Deezer estimates that together they account for 0.5% of all streams – the work needed to make an AI track is so tiny that the rewards justify the effort.

Are fully-AI tracks being removed?

Deezer is investing in AI-detection software and has filed two patents for systems that spot AI music. But it is not taking down the tracks it marks as fully-AI.

Instead it removes them from algorithmic recommendations and editorial playlists, a measure designed to stop the tracks getting streams and therefore generating royalties, and marks the tracks as “AI-generated content”.

“If people want to listen to an AI-generated track however, they can and we are not stopping them from doing so – we just want to make sure they are making a conscious decision,” the Deezer spokesperson says.

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The extraordinary impact of a crime on UK growth

Concerns about artists’ livelihoods

Deezer’s survey found that more than half (52%) of respondents felt uncomfortable with not being able to tell the difference between AI and human-made music.

“The survey results clearly show that people care about music and want to know if they’re listening to AI or human-made tracks or not,” said the company’s boss Alexis Lanternier.

“There’s also no doubt that there are concerns about how AI-generated music will affect the livelihood of artists.”

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Musicians protests AI copyright plans

Earlier this year, more than 1,000 musicians – including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush – released a silent album to protest plans by the UK government to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission.

A recent study commissioned by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers suggested that generative AI music could be worth £146bn a year in 2028 and account for around 60% of music libraries’ revenues.

By this metric, the authors concluded, 25% of creators’ revenues are at risk by 2028, a sum of £3.5bn.

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn’t ‘basis for defamation claim’

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn't 'basis for defamation claim'

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a speech in a Panorama programme in 2024.

The corporation said it was an “error of judgement” and the programme will “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.

But it added that it “strongly” disagrees that there is “a basis for a defamation claim”.

It emerged earlier, Donald Trump’s legal team said the US president had not yet filed a lawsuit against the BBC over the
broadcaster’s editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol building.

The legal team sent a letter over the weekend threatening to sue the media giant for $1bn and issuing three demands:

• Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the Panorama programme
• Apologise immediately
• “Appropriately compensate” the US president

On Sunday evening, two of the BBC’s top figures, including the director-general, resigned amid the edit and concerns about impartiality.

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In a statement, the corporation said: “Lawyers for the BBC have written to President Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday.

“BBC Chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation are sorry for the edit of the President’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.

“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms.

“While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

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