It has come to ligh that a class action lawsuit is being readied against The 1975 over the cancellation of Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur by Malaysian artists and festival vendors via NME.
The British band’s frontman Matty Healy criticised the Malaysian government and its anti-LGBTQ laws onstage and then kissed bassist Ross MacDonald during their headlining set at Good Vibes last Friday (July 21), which was afterwards cut short.
It was noted that the next day, the remainder of the three-day festival was ordered cancelled by the authorities and the band banned from performing in the country. As of Tuesday, 18 police reports have been filed over the incident.
The class action lawsuit, which is being readied by Malaysian law firm Thomas Philip, will name all four members of The 1975 and seek compensation over losses suffered as a result of the incident, which the firm’s founder and managing partner Matthew Thomas Philip labelled a “deliberate reckless act done knowing well [sic] of the consequences”.
“My view is that The 1975 must be held responsible and accountable for the losses suffered by the artists and vendors,” he said at a town hall meeting in the Hartamas area in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday (July 25) evening, which was attended by 70 people, mainly comprising artists, vendors and members of the media.
Philip first offered his firm’s services in a class action lawsuit to local artists seeking “to sue the band The 1975 for causing loss” in social media posts over the weekend. As of Tuesday evening five artists and five vendors are on board the class action, he told NME, which seeks general damages as well as exemplary and aggravated damages. It is not yet known how much in damages the lawsuit will seek. The firm, which is acting pro bono, said that it aims to gather its first batch of plaintiffs for the lawsuit within 7-14 days and to file suit in Malaysia.
