The 1975’s Matty Healy apologized onstage in Auckland, New Zealand last night for his several controversies over the past year. Notably, the singer made what some felt was a racist remark about rapper Ice Spice on “The Adam Frieland Show” in February.
Healy stated that he “loves Ice Spice.” He went on to say that he tends to take things “too far sometimes” and that he feels “a bit embarrassed.” The rock singer explained his fear of sincerity on such a massive platform, saying that he “never meant to hurt anybody.”
@emilyxinfinity loved every minute of this
The Controversies
The 1975 frontman has remained at the forefront of various controversies for the band in recent months. Back in February, Healy made several racially charged jokes that many felt were offensive. Healy and podcast host Adam Frieland mocked several indigenous accents, and made a comment about queer baiting and Harry Styles. Some Twitter users believe the apology was not truly sincere, and that Healy is only backpedaling because he got caught.
He isn’t sorry that he participated conversations about the race and body of a successful woman 11 years younger than him — he’s sorry that it made him look badhttps://t.co/2s9Ds1xbNR
— ???????????????????????????? (@bylarisha) April 21, 2023
Fans of the indie rock singer were quick to point out that Frieland and his cohost on “The Adam Frieland Show” both identify as queer men, which meant that Healy couldn’t seriously be homophobic. The comments divided the internet. The podcast episode had viewers questioning Healy’s claims of “performance art” in relation to his inappropriate comments. Today, some feel that he intentionally only apologized to Ice Spice and not the LGBTQ+ community.
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matty healy being so homophobic after profiting so much off the queer community is truly something I don’t have the words for pic.twitter.com/rNCphn8S9M
— leen (@wineglsspufpass) February 11, 2023
Healy additionally turned heads for kissing fans during his current tour. Healy was having security check IDs to confirm that the fans were legal adults, but some concertgoers still felt it was uncomfortable and created a power imbalance.
i’m gonna say it. matty healy is weird. he’s not attractive. he seems to be having psychotic episodes on stage frequently. he’s gotta stop kissing his fans. he thinks baiting racist jokes is funny. he follows kyle rittenhouse. his music is garbage.
— ireland (@bitchasstyler) January 27, 2023
The History
The 1975 were a pivotal force in the 2014 grunge revival in alternative rock. Their return to music and touring marked a pop culture revival in the fall of 2022. Healy has previously spoken to his struggles with addiction. The band’s current tour for their album “Being Funny In A Foreign Language” has been described by Healy as a look at the toxic masculinity associated with rock stars. On stage, the singer dances around with wine bottles and flasks as a character named “Truman Black.” Healy has long maintained that his controversial moments were made in character.
In addition to last night’s apology, Healy announced earlier this month that he was quitting social media.
“The era of me being a fucking arsehole is coming to an end” https://t.co/fYVLfbve2Q
— NME (@NME) April 12, 2023
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None of the other members of the 1975 have ever addressed Healy’s comments. Bassist Ross MacDonald, guitarist Adam Hahn, and drummer George Daniel have not posted to their socials about Healy’s onstage apology to Ice Spice.
