Over the last few months, Matt Healy hasn’t made many new friends. In fact, for The 1975, it has seemingly been the exact opposite. Healy has been involved in several public spats with fellow musicians Lucy Dacus, Noel Gallagher, and Rina Sawayama. According to Sawayama, her feud with Healy stems from a myriad of things, including his insensitive remarks about Asian people while taking a jab at rapper Ice Spice.
Healy previously addressed his now-infamous statements on The Adam Friedland Show in July. But yesterday, October 2, during The 1975’s sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl, he took a moment to issue a formal apology, or so that’s what the Los Angeles, California crowd thought.
In a video captured by a concertgoer, Healy began what was a seemingly genuine reflection of his inappropriate commentary. However, near the end, Healy’s sarcasm emerged as he transitioned into an ad placement for the online therapy service Better Help, with cue cards and an on-screen banner.
Watch the full video and read his statement below.
I apologize to those people, and I promise to do better moving forward. Give it up for an apology. But I also think it’s important that I express my intentions so that everyone knows that there is no ill will coming from them. As an artist, I want to create an environment for myself to perform so, not everything that I do literally. Like for example, I’m onstage right now. But I don’t do this in my normal life..going around singing songs. But I’ve kind of performed exaggerated of myself on other stages, being print or on podcasts, and an often misguided attempt at fulfilling the kind of character role of the 21st-century rockstar. So, it’s complicated. And this might be cheesy, but sometimes playing pretend is the only way you can truly find out who you are. And you could probably say that men would rather do offensive impressions for attention than go to therapy. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself. And sometimes that just requires people that really know what they’re talking about.
Matty Healy just addresses his recent, um, controversies on stage. And well, did not end where I expected. pic.twitter.com/i59pDPBtMw
— Mark Rozeman (@Mrozema) October 3, 2023