It’s been a while since the news of the Good Vibes Festival 2023’s cancellation due to The 1975’s Matty Healy kissing Ross MacDonald made headlines globally. While many of us have since moved on from the whole fiasco, some parties have yet to let it go.
This past weekend, The 1975 performed at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago when frontman Matty Healy suddenly jumped off-stage after spotting Blink-182’s singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge in the crowd. Matty scrambled to hug Tom and give a peck on the cheek while still holding on to a mic and a lit cigarette before sharing his admiration for the musician.
Matty Healy se bajó del escenario para abrazarle a Tom DeLonge 🫶🏻
Esto sucedió ayer en el presentación de The 11975 en el Lollapalooza Chicago#Lollapalooza2023 #blink182 #the1975 pic.twitter.com/INvWlR2Fal
— blink-182 Paraguay (@blink182py) August 5, 2023
While it could have just been a sweet moment between two musicians, the guitarist instead decided to use the moment to poke fun at Malaysians. The 47-year-old posted a photo of the embrace on Instagram with the captions, “I guess myself ‘AND’ The 1975 won’t be going to Malaysia – just a couple dudes kissing during their phenomenal set at Lollapalooza.”
Of course, the post did not sit well with Malaysians, who started bombarding the Blink-182 member with angry comments. Many, even fans of the band, called the post disrespectful and were disappointed that Tom supported the controversial band. However, some comments sneered at Tom’s comment, replying that Malaysians won’t welcome the band here either.
During the same night, Matty Healy also allegedly mocked Malaysia before performing “It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You”, saying, “You want my travel tip? Don’t go to…”. This ment was part of a running gag with the song where the vocalist would say something before getting cut off by the song’s intro.
It’s sad to see how many people would rally behind problematic behaviour. As for Matty Healy, we also have a travel tip for you: try to respect the culture and customs of the country you’re visiting.
Sources: Instagram (1)(2), Twitter, Billboard
Adleena contributed to this article.
