Charli XCX defends The 1975’s Matty Healy over gay onstage kiss in Malaysia: ‘Great art is divisive’
Charli XCX has spoken out about Matty Healy’s divisive same-sex kiss. (Getty)
Charli XCX has defended The 1975 frontman Matty Healy after he kissed the band’s bassist onstage in Malaysia in July 2023. The “Brat Summer” trendsetter said about the controversial gay kiss that “great art is divisive”.
Healy appeared at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival last year when he shared a same-sex kiss onstage with his bandmate Ross MacDonald and criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Healy claimed that he was “briefly imprisoned” following the act, which his frequent collaborator Charli has dubbed as “art”.
Whilst appearing on The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music, Erupcja star Charli said about the event: “I can’t speak on his behalf at all, but all I’ll say from my perspective in terms of that show, is that I just really enjoy people who take a risk in terms of what they’re putting out there artistically.”
“He’s like my brother now, and I hope he wouldn’t mind me saying this, but I have an endless amount of respect for him as a songwriter and him as a person, but I sometimes want to strangle him,” the singer admitted.
Charli, who is engaged to the band’s drummer George Daniel, said that her appreciation for The 1975’s music spanned further than her relationship with the bandmate. “Even before being with George, years and years ago, I’ve always been such a fan of their work.
“[Matty] is thinking of the way everything is digested in terms of their work, their artwork, their font, their videos, their everything it’s very, very holistic.”
The pair have previously worked together as feature artists on No Rome’s track “Spinning”, with The 1975 also appearing on Charli’s upcoming remix album, Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat. The band is a featured artist on the remix of “I Might Say Something Stupid”.
After facing controversy for the same-sex kiss at the time, The 1975 cancelled shows in Indonesia and Taiwan. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while there is no legal protection against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination or hate crimes.
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