The Glastonbury Music Festival is home to the largest performing arts festival in the globe. The tented city is settled in 900 acres of the Vale of Avalon that is full of rich mythology and religious traditions. The festival is typically known for its calm and friendly vibe, but after the Rina Sawayama and Matty Healy controversy, I’m not so sure anymore.
If you haven’t heard about the most recent drama between Healy and Sawayama at Glastonbury on June 24, I’ll break it down for you: Sawayama addressed the 1975 frontman’s recent podcast controversy that’s angered fans for months. Her Campus has reached out to Healy’s team for comment on Sawayama’s remarks, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Healy appeared on The Adam Friedland Show, a podcast with Friedland and Nick Mullen, back on Feb. 9. During the interview, the hosts mocked Hawaiian Inuit and Chinese accents while mistaking Ice Spice for someone of that heritage. Healy was heard doing impressions of Japanese people in concentration camps with the hosts. Healy also touched on watching Ghetto Gaggers, a series of racially charged pornography where white men place women of color in submissive positions.
During her set at Glastonbury, Sawayama exclaimed, “Tonight, this goes out to a white man that watches Ghetto Gaggers, and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters. I’ve had enough.” But wait, how does Healy own Sawayama’s masters? I can’t have been the only one confused about their connection.
Well, Sawayama and The 1975 are signed to Dirty Hit, a U.K.-based record label. Up until April 2023, Healy served as director of the company, but has stepped down for unknown reasons. He hasn’t publicly acknowledged Sawayama’s comments yet, but as a response to the podcast controversy, Healy stated,”I think that I’ve said some things or kind of, I make a joke out of everything. That’s my thing. And I can take it too far sometimes in front of too many people. And I feel a bit embarrassed. So that’s the truth.”
Healy has since issued somewhat of an apology to Ice Spice, too, saying, “Ice, Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that my joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d***. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m sorry.”
This isn’t the first time people have gotten heated over Healy’s actions. During the timeline of Taylor Swift and Healy’s short-lived relationship, Swifties weren’t exactly his biggest fans. Healy and Sawayama’s followers have been concerned, to say the least. Fans have been holding up signs saying, “Matty, I hope you’re OK” and sharing their opinions on social media about the callout, with one fan saying, “Rina Sawayama calling out Matt Healy and incorporating a Limp Bizkit cover into STFU is absolutely everything. I adore this woman.”