The 1975’s Matty Healy says he “felt pretty irresponsible” about Dubai fan incident
The 1975’s Matty Healy has spoken again about kissing a male fan at a Dubai concert, saying he “felt pretty irresponsible” about it.
The incident took place at the band’s August 2019 show in the United Arab Emirates city, where homosexual acts are illegal and can be punishable by fines and jail time.
In a new interview, Healy has reflected on his actions, which drew criticism online for potentially endangering the fan involved. During ‘Loving Someone’, the stage background transforms into the gay pride flag, which the frontman said prompted security guards in Dubai to try and “pull [the band] off stage”.
Instead, Healy went down to the crowd and went to hug a male fan who was holding up a sign that read: “Marry me.” “He said, ‘Can I have a kiss?’ and I was like, ‘Why not?’” Healy explained to The Sunday Times.
He claimed the authorities wanted to arrest him, which he managed to avoid, but reading the reaction on Twitter made him consider “going down to the police station and hand[ing] myself in”. “When I got to Japan I was reading about it and I felt pretty irresponsible and then a bit, well, ‘Fuck that’,” he said.
“Of course I’m not going to put people in danger, but I genuinely want to be an ally for people who don’t have a voice if I happen to have this big voice in pop culture. Those are the fundamental things I stand for.”
Healy spoke to NME on the day of the Dubai concert, saying before the show that he would “go to jail for what I stand for”. “I would never come over here and be disrespectful to people to make a point,” he said. “But I’m never going to not stand up for women. I’m not going to not stand up for gay people. I’m not going to not stand up for minorities.”
Meanwhile, The 1975 are set to release their fourth album ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ on May 22. In a five-star review, NME said of the record: “Instead of issuing another state-of-the-world album, The 1975 have somehow put out an album made for introspection and headphone listening and dancing around your living room, something deep and sprawling and occasionally silly to dig deep into over many listens – something just right for now.”
