Friday, August 16, 2019

Rocker Kisses Male Fan During Dubai Concert Defying Anti-LGBTQ Laws

Matt Healy, lead singer for The 1975 (photo: Alex Liscio Photos/Flickr - CC License)

Matt Healy, lead singer for the UK band The 1975, responded to a male fan’s request to “marry me” by heading into the crowd and laying some lip-lock on the fan during the band's first-ever concert in Dubai.

Billboard reports the moment happened during the performance of the band’s song, “Loving Someone.”

As he returned to the stage amid loud cheers from the crowd, Healy said, “I love you, bro - we're all human, right?”

The kiss was noteworthy not only for the artist/fan interaction but also due to the severe anti-homosexuality laws in the United Arab Emirates where being gay is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Even so, the crowd was thrilled.





At another moment during the concert, Healy stopped to speak directly to the adversity LGBTQ people face in the Arab country and acknowledged the risk he faced even addressing the subject.

“I just want us to identify as humans and not as groups of individual different people," he told the crowd. "I’m sorry, I know it seems indulgent for me to cry but I do this every night and it’s the same thing, I see so much passion and pain, and I know what you guys are going through and I know you’re not representative of your governments.”

And the crowd goes wild!











The band, which won Best Album and Best Group at this year’s Brit Awards, has seen all three of their studio albums hit number one on the UK charts.

The 1975 has a history of LGBTQ support. Last year, the band kicked in £50,000 to help fund London’s new LGBTQ center.

At the time, Healy told The Observer, “You might wonder why it is needed, and even ask yourself what exactly is everyone still scared of, but sadly, I think stigma still exists even in London and we still have some way to go.”

After the Dubai concert, Healy took to Twitter to say he “wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again.”



While many applauded the display of support, some on social media expressed concern that the public same-sex kiss could put the fan in jeopardy under the laws of his country.





Earlier this month, I reported a shared kiss between bandmates of the heavy metal group Rammstein during a concert in Russia. That kiss was also seen as a protest of the anti-LGBTQ 'propaganda' laws there.



(source: Billboard- cropped image via CC License/Flickr)
Posted by Randy Slovacek at 1:24 PM
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