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Matty Healy, lead singer for the British rock band The 1975, told fans at the Glastonbury Festival set on Friday night that the group would no longer be infusing politics into their live performances. Despite Healy’s assertion, politically charged visuals soon appeared.
The rocker addressed the crowd after their opening tracks and noted that while some may be disappointed in the “lack of politics” during their set, telling fans the band wants to move on and ensure their legacy “won’t be one of politics.”
“People who are watching this may — I don’t know — they may be disappointed in the lack of politics in this show and our forthcoming shows and probably our future shows. I want you to know that it’s a conscious decision,” he told the crowd. “We honestly don’t want our legacy to be one of politics. We want it to be that of love and friendship. I’m not trying to be too earnest, but you can go out into the world and there’s loads of politics everywhere. And I think we don’t need more politics. We need more love and friendship.”
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Healy performing on day three of the Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England on June, 27, 2025. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The singer called his comments “really basic,” but lobbied the audience to “aspire to this level of friendship.”
Following the speech, it only took the band one song before politics made an appearance.
As noted by Variety, “Love It if We Made It,” one of the band’s most politically charged songs, was accompanied by a montage displaying images of President Donald Trump, Kanye West and depictions of the plights of immigrants.
Healy, who is an ex-boyfriend of Taylor Swift, is no stranger to controversy. He landed the group in hot water in 2023 after he kissed the band’s guitarist, Ross MacDonald, on-stage in Malaysia to protest the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws.
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The 1975 front man and pop star Taylor Swift briefly dated in 2023, breaking up after about a month. (Getty Images)
Not only did the moment result in the three-day festival they were playing at being canceled and the band being banned from performing in Malaysia, it may have had a negative impact on the country’s LGBTQ-identifying citizens.
As reported by Variety, some locals feared that the band’s actions could lead to a further crackdown by the government on its gay citizens.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for the band told Variety: “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.”
According to the entertainment site NME.com, Healy cried when Trump won in 2016. He added, “I was tired and we felt a bit defeated.”
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