Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge has declared he “won’t be going to Malaysia” – after sharing a smooch with The 1975’s Matty Healy.
The pop group were performing ‘Robbers’ at Lollapalooza Chicago on August 4, when frontman Matty spotted the pop punk legend in the crowd and stumbled down off the stage into the crowd to share the sweet embrace.
Sharing a screenshot from someone’s TikTok of the moment, Tom wrote on Instagram: “I guess myself ‘AND’ The 1975 won’t be going to Malaysia – just a couple of dudes kissing during their phenomenal set at Lollapalooza.”
Alongside the video clip, he also wrote: “The 1975 blew me away at Lollapalooza… Great f****** band. [Matty Healy] even gave me a quick kiss as a first time hello.”
The 1975 are banned from the country in Southeast Asia, where same-sex activity is illegal, after Matty, 34, protested the laws by kissing his male bassist Ross MacDonald during their show at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur.
He went on to mock Malaysia’s anti-gay officials after they were told they cannot perform there again.
Matty wrote on his Instagram Stories as news about the ban made global headlines: “Ok well why don’t you try and not make out with Ross for 20 years. Not as easy as it looks.”
The singer then posted a series of pictures showing his close friendship with Ross, as well as a since-deleted video of a speech from author Christopher Hitchens, in which the intellectual said: “Homosexuality is not just a form of sex – it’s a form of love.”
Other posts on Matt’s Stories in the wake of the Malaysia controversy featured a black hat superimposed on a map of the country along with a screenshot of his name trending on Twitter.
The Good Vibes Festival was scheduled to run the rest of the weekend but was abruptly axed by authorities following Matt’s kiss.
He told the crowd: “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.
“I’m sorry if that offends you and you’re religious… but your government are a bunch of f****** r******.
“I don’t care anymore. If you push, I’m gonna push back. I’m not in the f****** mood.”
He added about why the band had decided to turn up at the festival despite his anger, before kissing Ross: “I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool. I pulled this show yesterday, and we had a conversation.
“We said, ‘You know what? We can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government.’
“If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f*** off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before, and it doesn’t feel good.”
Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital said about cancelling the festival in the wake of Matt’s kiss: “The Ministry has underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws… we sincerely apologise to all 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.”
The rest of The 1975’s Asia Tour, which included stops at Jakarta, Indonesia’s We the Fest on Sunday and a show in Taipei, Taiwan, were also pulled, and the Lollapalooza concert was their first show since Good Vibes.