In 1975 frontman Matty Healy has come under fire for commenting the problem.
The controversy started when the 33-year-old singer appeared on The Adam Friedland Show podcast, during which he talks about musicians like Pink and Harry Styles queerbaiting. Matty said in the podcast episode:
“Did you see that Pink was canceled because she looked like a lesbian earlier in her career and now it’s considered queerbaiting? A lot of 18-year-olds are like, ‘She’s damaged the lesbian community beyond repair.’ “
When the host asked the artist why he thought that Harry, who has never labeled his sexuality, was allowed “queerbait”, Matty claimed that the 29-year-old “got a pass” from fans:
“They get a pass, I don’t know… I really don’t think gays really like it, it’s young girls who think it’s a new thing that’s like, ‘Oh my God.'”
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From there, the conversation turned to Matty and the host made some problematic comments, including saying that “gay people don’t have a problem with people pretending to be gay, they just assume.” The artist responded to the comment, saying:
“Yes, it is. Maybe not all of them are gay but a lot of them”
And it doesn’t stop there. Elsewhere on the podcast, he also made some derogatory comments about women, used the R word, and mocked Chinese and Hawaiian accents. At one point, Matty and the hosts discussed gambling sites, and one of them said that “they have child porn on the website.” The songwriter replied:
“Voice!”
nasty. You can listen to the podcast episode (below):
Since the release of the podcast, many people have taken to social media to blast Matty for not only calling Harry out for queerbaiting when he did the same thing before, but also making homophobic and offensive comments during the interview. Read it Twitter reaction (below):
“And you wonder why harry doesn’t like you and refuses to perform with your band when you talk about him… obvious homophobia… and coming from matty healy of all people?”
“Harry Styles and Matty Healy are in the same room after the podcast is just asking for trouble #Brits2023”
“Wait the problem the killers have is that they call harry style a queerbaiter and not an asian they’re making fun of???”
“The thing that confuses me about the podcast is that Matty Healy calls Harry out for ‘queerbaiting’ because of his style, but he’s doing the same thing”
“I don’t know anything about 1975 or Matty Healy, but there is no excuse for this behavior and to be honest it is very dirty what the hell.”
“Matty Healy wtf is wrong with you”
“This Matty Healy podcast is like listening to a group of boys with no sex. It’s horrible – the misogynistic, homophobic vocabulary and the overall condescending tone is just too much. What’s going on with this guy?”
“matty healy practice what you preach challenge… maybe don’t do performance art commenting on toxic masculinity if you’re just going to turn and eat right into“
“if matty healy everyone thinks he has the right to say anything about “queerbaiting” and harry’s self expression is wild.“
Matty has not yet responded to the backlash, but he has since deleted his Twitter account. Reaction to the controversy, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via WENN/Avalon, MEGA/WENN]