The 1975 singer Matt Healy kisses man to protest Dubai’s anti-LGBTIQ+ laws

"I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’ but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again."

Matt Healy

Matt Healy shared an onstage kiss to protest anti-gay laws in Dubai. Source: Redferns

Fans of British band The 1975 are divided after the group's front-man, Matt Healy, locked lips with a male fan in Dubai - supposedly to protest

Footage of the kiss was quickly shared on social media, with the singer seen returning to the stage and saying: "I love you bro. We're all human, right?"

Taking to Twitter following the concert, Healy : "I don't think we'll be allowed back due to my 'behaviour' but know that I love you and I wouldn't have done anything differently given the chance again."

Homosexuality is illegal in the Arab emirate, and some fans have taken issue with how the kiss might negatively impact the other man involved.
"I can’t disagree with Matt Healy’s intent at all but what he did was incredibly misguided and irresponsible," one fan tweeted.

"He has now endangered a man’s life for this 'statement' - I think he needs to be educated, frankly. I pray the man he kissed stays safe."

The kiss wasn't Healy's first attempt at supporting members of the LGBTIQ+ community.

After helping to finance a new LGBTIQ+ community centre in London last year, the 30-year-old : "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."

According to , same-sex relations between members of the same sex are outlawed in Dubai, with perpetrators facing a maximum punishment of either 10 years or the death penalty.

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Published 19 August 2019 2:15pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


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