The 1975 has cancelled shows in Taiwan and Muslim-majority Indonesia, a day after Malaysia banned the British group from performing there after its frontman kissed a bandmate on stage and criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQI laws.
“Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows,” the pop-rock group said in a statement, without elaborating.
Malaysia’s government halted a music festival in the capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and barred The 1975 after what it called “disrespectful actions”.
Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The events on Friday in Malaysia caused an uproar, angering not only the government but members of the LGBTQI community, who said frontman Matty Healy’s actions could expose LGBTQI people to more stigma and discrimination.
The band was due to play on Sunday in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, where homosexuality is a taboo subject although not illegal except in sharia-ruled Aceh province.
Other LGBTQI-related events have also been cancelled in Indonesia due to objections from Islamic groups, including a planned visit last December by a United States LGBTQI special envoy, and the scrapping this month of a Southeast Asia LGBTQI event.
Both came after pressure from religious conservatives.
It was not immediately clear why the band cancelled its July 25 show in Taiwan, which has a proud reputation as a bastion of LGBTQI rights and liberalism, including allowing same-sex marriage in 2019.