The 1975’s Matty Healy has apologised for hurting “some people” with his recent controversial actions.
In recent months, the 34-year-old musician has faced criticism for a variety of actions, from shutting down a Malaysian music festival to making racist jokes about the rapper Ice Spice.
During the indie rock band’s show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, on Monday (2 October), Healy pledged to “do better”.
“Because some of my actions have hurt some people, I apologise to those people, and I pledge to do better moving forward,” he said in footage shared on X/Twitter.
“I think it’s also important that I express my intentions, so everybody knows that there is no ill will coming from me. You see, as an artist, I want to create an environment for myself to perform where not everything that I do is taken literally,” he continued.
“I’ve kind of performed exaggerated versions of myself on other stages, be it [in] print or on podcasts and in an often misguided attempt at fulfilling the kind of character role of the 21st-century rock star,” he said. “So, it’s complicated.
“Sometimes playing pretend is the only way you can truly find out who you are, and you could probably also say that men would rather do offensive impressions for attention than go to therapy.”
Matty Healy of The 1975— (Getty Images)
In February this year, The 1975 frontman attracted widespread criticism for remarks he made about Bronx rapper Ice Spice during an episode of the Adam Friedland podcast.
At one point in the podcast, which was pulled from both Apple and Spotify, Healy, Friedland and comedian Nick Mullen appeared to confuse and joke about the “Princess Diana” star’s heritage by referring to her as Inuit and Chinese, imitating and mocking the accents of each.
Mullen called the “Princess Diana” rapper an “Inuit Spice Girl” and a “chubby Chinese lady”.
The group also made a number of derogatory comments about women during the interview.
Ice Spice has since reacted to the comments, saying she was “so confused” while adding that Healy has apologised to her on a number of occasions. “We’re good,” she said.
Last month, Healy found himself in hot water again when he deactivated his X/Twitter account after making an ableist joke in connection to the indie supergroup, Boygenius.
In August, Healy’s band was ordered to pay £2m in damages for allegedly breaking contract terms during their controversial show in Malaysia.
The 1975’s July performance at Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur was cut short when frontman Matt Healy kissed bassist Ross MacDonald while criticising the country’s anti-LGBT+ laws, under which homosexual acts are illegal.
