At the Cheshire based group’s gig, singer Matty Healy told the crowd “Because some of my actions have hurt some people, I apologise to those people, and I pledge to do better moving forward. I think it’s also important that I express my intentions, so everybody knows that there is no ill will coming from me.

You see, as an artist, I want to create an environment for myself to perform where not everything that I do is taken literally… I’ve kind of performed exaggerated versions of myself on other stages, be it print or on podcasts and in an often misguided attempt at fulfilling the kind of character role of the 21st-century rock star – so, it’s complicated.

Sometimes playing pretend is the only way you can truly find out who you are, and you could probably also say that men would rather do offensive impressions for attention than go to therapy.”

An example of when Healy has offended people happened after he appeared on a now removed episode of The Adam Friedland Show, where he and the show’s hosts discussed the heritage of American rapper Ice Spice. On the show, there was a debate as to whether the New Yorker was of Hawaiian, Inuit or Chinese descent, before impersonating accents from these countries and regions.

In response to these comments, Ice Spice told Variety “When I had heard that little podcast or whatever, I was so confused. Because I heard ‘chubby Chinese lady’ or some s**t like that, and I’m like, ‘Huh? What does that even mean?’ First of all, I’m thick. What do you mean Chinese? What? But then they apologised or whatever. And the whole time, I didn’t really care.”

“But that’s funny because I saw him [Matty Healy] at the Jean Paul Gaultier party a couple days ago, and he was like, ‘Hey, you OK?’ and I’m like, ‘Of course.’ He apologised to me a bunch of times. We’re good.”

In an apology at a The 1975 show in Auckland earlier this year, Healy admitted “I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you. Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a dick. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry.”

You can watch Healy’s apology to Ice Spice as told by Entertainment Tonight below.

Dirty Hit Limited are the private company behind Dirty Hit, the record label with whom The 1975 have released their entire discography. Healy was appointed director in December 2018 and was active in the role until his termination in April 2023.

Pitchfork were informed that the move was “administrative in nature” though neither The 1975 nor Dirty Hit Limited have commented on the change.

Fans are speculating over the reasoning behind Matty’s termination however, linking his controversial behaviour on social media and on tour to the change in role, though this has not been confirmed by either party involved.

One fan suggested Matty “pretends it’s a choice” following his social media accounts being banned in addition to no longer being a company director, but is ultimately scathing towards his recent actions.

imagine matty’s twitter was actually banned and now his insta is too and he was fired as dirty hit director but he pretends it’s a choice and all “new era of not being a fucking asshole”

— eva (@ratthealy) April 10, 2023

Another fan joked that this is simply due to tax reasons, owed to the timing of Matty’s termination.  

Matty ‘resigning’ from dirty hit at the end of the tax year? He’s just tryna commit tax evasion guys — niche internet micro celebrity land_sam02 (@land_sam02) April 6, 2023

The link between The 1975 and Dirty Hit runs deep, leaving fans questioning what this means for the band moving forwards. Matty has collaborated with multiple artists also signed to Dirty Hit, including No Rome, Beabadoobee and the Japanese House, in essence making Matty the face of the label.

Matty literally is Dirty Hit so like…I’m intrigued

— Emily (@Emily__483) April 6, 2023

Healy is no stranger to being at the centre of controversial news, recently facing backlash for his comments on women as a guest on The Adam Friedland Show, in addition to judging Harry Styles for his “queerbaiting” behaviour and mocking Scottish English.

This followed a string of questionable behaviour during The 1975’s At Their Very Best tour, which saw Matty doing everything from eating raw meat on stage to pulling fans up on stage to kiss them.

so matty healy just french kissed me pic.twitter.com/2v06jUZPBS — giulia (@dntyoumind) January 8, 2023

Matty’s behaviour has been questioned by fans and news outlets alike, ultimately leaving them questioning whether this truly is performance art or whether this show of personality is reason enough for his directorship to be terminated in the interest of PR.

The 1975 are set to play multiple festivals across the UK, with tickets available to purchase here.

07/06/2023 – St. Anne’s Park – Dublin

11/06/2023 – Parklife Festival – Manchester

02/07/2023 – Finsbury Park – London

09/07/2023 – TRNSMT Festival – Glasgow

Stream The 1975’s latest album, Being Funny In a Foreign Language, here.