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Matty Healy Felt 'Irresponsible' After Kissing Gay Fan in Dubai
The 1975 frontman says regrets sharing a risky kiss with a fan during a concert.
Matty Healy, frontman of British pop-rock band The 1975, says he now regrets a risky kiss he shared with a fan in Dubai last year.
During their August 2019 concert in the highly-populated United Arab Emirates city, The 1975 performed one of their songs, "Loving Someone," with a massive gay Pride flag covering the stage background. The display incited security guards to attempt to "pull [the band] off stage" and to avoid the confrontation, Healy went down into the crowd. As he went to hug a male fan, the fan held a sign that read "Marry me" and asked Healy if he could have a kiss.
"I was like, 'Why not?'" Healy told The Sunday Timesabout the moment.
But what might've been a casual kiss for Healy made international headlines. Homosexuality is still criminalized in Dubai, and with videos of the moment spreading around social media, fans worried that a public kiss from Healy would put the fan at risk and that the government would try to arrest the man.
Healy was seemingly unbothered at first. "I really liked that boy and I am pretty sure he liked that kiss. It is not me that needs to change, it is the world that needs changing," he said at the time. But in the recent interview with The Sunday Times, he revealed that upon reflection, he might have some regrets...
"When I got to Japan I was reading about it and I felt pretty irresponsible," he said. "And then a bit, well, 'Fuck that.'"
The vocal LGBTQ+ ally went on:
"Of course I’m not going to put people in danger, but I genuinely want to be an ally for people who don’t have a voice if I happen to have this big voice in pop culture. Those are the fundamental things I stand for."
In the past, Healy has been open about finding men attractive in a non-sexual way. "The other sex is still attractive, it’s just that sex is weird, isn’t it?" he said in a 2018 interview with Shortlist. "Do you know what I mean? It’s, like, do I want to do blowjobs with a guy? No. Do I want to kiss a guy? Yeah, kind of..."
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Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
