Charli XCX says ‘great art is divisive’ after Matty Healy stage kiss in Malaysia

Charli XCX described The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s on-stage protest kiss, which shut down a Malaysian music festival last year, as “a little divisive, but I think great art is divisive”.

In July 2023, Healy made a speech about homosexuality, which is illegal in Malaysia, and kissed bass player Ross MacDonald during the band’s headline performance at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

Organisers Future Sound Asia (FSA) cancelled the festival and later sued the band, seeking £1.9 million for breach of contract and losses.

More a year later, The 1975 are set to appear on the upcoming remixed version of Charli XCX’s album Brat.

The British singer, real name Charlotte Aitchison, told The Zane Lowe Show on Apple Music 1 that she “really wanted” Healy to appear on the new version of her track I Might Say Something Stupid.

When asked about the pertinence of him being on that particular song, she said: “He’s like my brother now, and I hope he wouldn’t mind me saying this, but I have an endless amount of respect for him as a songwriter and him as a person, but I sometimes want to strangle him.”

Talking about the Malaysian show, she continued: “I can’t speak on his behalf at all, but all I’ll say from my perspective in terms of that show, is that I just really enjoy people who take a risk in terms of what they’re putting out there artistically.

“I think that show is a little divisive, but I think great art is divisive.”

The 32-year-old, who is engaged to The 1975’s drummer George Daniel, added: “Even before being with George, years and years ago, I’ve always been such a fan of their work.

“(Healy) is thinking of the way everything is digested in terms of their work, their artwork, their font, their videos, their everything – it’s very, very holistic.”

Charli XCX’s “brat girl summer” sent TikTok into a spiral earlier this year, when the Cambridge-born singer’s combination of grunge and hyper-feminine managed to inspire a trend that became a lifestyle, rather than just an aesthetic.

“A brat has a packs of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra,” she said.

The look was about embodying self-love, positive body image and sultry style choices, marking a sharp departure from the preceding ‘clean girl’ trend, which promoted things like yoga, early nights and slicked back hair.

Charlie XCX releases a remixed version of Brat on Friday October 11.