Julian Casablacas says The Strokes are working on a way to perform in Malaysia following Good Vibes’ cancellation
Written by ABR on 24/07/2023
The Strokes‘ Julian Casablancas has shared on social media that the band are currently working on a way to perform in Malaysia after Good Vibes Festival’s cancellation this past weekend.
Casablancas took to Instagram on Sunday (July 23) – on the day of what would’ve been their first time performing in the country, and their headline slot at Good Vibes – to say that he had heard of the festival’s cancellation, adding that The Strokes are “currently trying to figure something out”. “One way or another will let you know soon,” Casablancas added.
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The Strokes frontman’s post comes after days two and three of Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur were cancelled following an onstage incident with The 1975 on Friday, July 21, which led to The 1975’s ban from Malaysia and the eventual cancellation of the entire festival.
During their headlining set on Friday, The 1975’s Matty Healy criticised Malaysia’s government for their anti-LGBTQ laws. Healy – who was drinking onstage – also smashed a festival-owned drone and kissed bassist Ross MacDonald onstage, before announcing just seven songs into their set that they had been banned from Malaysia and had to leave.
“I made a mistake. When we were booking shows, I wasn’t looking into it. I don’t see the fucking point, right, I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with,” said Healy onstage prior to the kiss.
He continued: “I am sorry if that offends you and you’re religious and it’s part of your fucking government, but your government are a bunch of fucking retards and I don’t care anymore. If you push, I am going to push back. I am not in the fucking mood, I’m not in the fucking mood.”
The following day (July 22), the country’s communications minister announced that he had ordered the rest of the festival cancelled. Good Vibes Festival then issued an official statement to confirm its cancellation.
Good Vibes Festival claimed via a press statement that it had been “reassured” by The 1975’s management prior to the show that Healy and the band “would adhere to local performance guidelines”. “Regrettably,” the festival wrote, “Healy did not honour these assurances, despite our trust in their commitment. Healy’s actions took us by complete surprise, and we halted the show as promptly as feasible following the incident.”
While Matty Healy on stage said that he was standing up for the LBGTQ+ rights in Malaysia, Julian Casablancas shared in the comments of his Instagram post that the matter was a lot more delicate and that Healy’s actions “will likely change little to nothing”. When asked by a fan if he had known of the ongoing struggles of the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia, Casablancas admitted that the incident had raised awareness for him, saying he initially “had no idea”.
Casablancas wrote that Healy’s actions and global attention on the issue is “not one of those situations where Twitter pressure’s gonna work, they don’t care, the [government] is intense there.”
Meanwhile, this is what it’s like when an adult is talking, with the adult being Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. https://t.co/WlBcTE76BF pic.twitter.com/taUTmjw6xM
— Hasief Ardiasyah (@hasief) July 23, 2023
When a fan argued that Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws were “homophobic”, Casablancas pointed out the difference in cultures and religions, suggesting a more strategic approach and a better understanding of the situation: “Just good to have cultural awareness as well… many things to fix in the world and many things to stand up tho… important to be strategic too. No winners here unfortunately, but hopefully we all keep learning, and fight smarter and things get less stupid ha”.
Currently, Malaysian law criminalises sexual activity between people of the same sex, with its penal code criminalising “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and acts of “gross indecency”.
The post Julian Casablacas says The Strokes are working on a way to perform in Malaysia following Good Vibes’ cancellation appeared first on NME.
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