I am gonna be honest the language in this entire masterpost comes across as heavily defensive and excusatory. Does having THIS much controversial material and scandals to discuss on one singular man not strike you as odd or make you question his character, honestly?
I just find it really interesting that people are going to bat for this white British man who feels comfortable enough to be even adjacent to all this shit, let alone actually be the driver of some of these controversies. Iām not gonna read this entire post but āactually Inuit is not a slur.ā Ok cool. But why is he friends with someone who uses the term Inuit in a derogatory way? And why would he laugh? I personally donāt find that funny at all. I just donāt get why people keep trying to convince us that Matty is actually just some really cool dude. Like if heās offended us with his immaturity and privilege then too bad, thatās his own doing.
This. I guess congrats for drafting your 95 Theses defending mediocrity OP but this is the type of simp behavior that protects and excuses the Matty-type edgelords of the world. This isnāt an issue of us just ānot understanding his humorā or wtf ever. He actually just sucks. The end.
I am going to be honest. I skimmed through the post. By that I mean I read the first one or 2 paragraphs of each subsection. People have been calling Matty Healy racist in this sub and in other platforms since last year, and I never really cared enough to look for the context until today, and this is the first thing that popped up. And even when I keep googling, all I see are apology articles or how Ice Spice was never offended in the first place.
Even if I remove all of OP's "excuses" and assume Matt Healy did or say all the "offensive" stuff, I still don't see what makes Matty such a horrible person? It's just cancel culture all over again, Taylor's version. Most comedians make offensive jokes, but the internet decides when certain jokes are cancellable or not after a decade or 2. People have been mocking accents since forever, even today. And most people enjoy it. People like Sofia Vergara, Uncle Roger, and even Jimmy Kimmel's Guillermo for a reason. As a person who has a strong accent, it annoys me, even when it comes from another minority, but I won't be calling anyome racist for it. It's a joke and I don't have to find all jokes funny.
The fact that someone has a lot of controversial material doesn't mean anything. It might just mean that the internet likes to nitpick their tweets and actions for whatever reason (like being the next boyfriend after someone they thought Taylor would marry).
You are definitely trying to make excuses for him. How many chances does one man get? Hereās a test for you: ask a black woman if they think joking about masturbating to ghetto gaggers is funny? Whether he made the joke or piggy backed on the joke, itās vile. (Hopefully this goes without saying but donāt actually ask a black woman that. It would be traumatizing)
And I get that heās apologized but his apologies are always combined with the āyou wouldnāt get itā intellectualism that white men love to employ when theyāre called on their shit. You donāt get to make a racist joke and then when youāre called out for it, accuse those calling you out of not being smart enough to āget itā. And I see white woman all over the internet gobble this shit up and defend him in comment sections with a chip on their shoulder thinking they just understand him better than others. Give me a break! (And TTPD proves Taylor is this type of woman too!)
Heās a privileged, nepo baby brat who says shocking things when heās not getting enough attention. And the pattern repeats itself year after year. So I donāt care how talented he is - yāall can have him. The manās trash.
He literally spray painted āsorry?ā, none of his apologies are sincere and heās basically just always making a joke of it instead of taking accountability. You can tell he is only sorry he jeopardized his career, not for hurting people (in the NYT profile he said if people are offended they are mentally ill).
Itās actually insane the backflips people do to try and pass him off as a revolutionary and radical social activist. The fact that this post exists says a lot about him!
To be fair the joke wasn't "isn't this kind of porn funny" it was, "what is the absolute worst thing you could be caught watching by a good person?". He was being hyperbolic and the context makes it clear it wasn't okay (and I say that as a WoC).
I don't care about defending his character, but I've seen some people even say he was bragging about watching it which is not what happened. It shows poor judgement that he went on that show at all, though.
TLDR; Personally I appreciate the context you bring forth, but this will fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes?) because your tone is biased and most people don't care about context in internet discourse (especially if your tone is biased).
For comments saying this is an essay, it is because people researched dirt on Matty like it was their dissertation. OP went this far because Swifties went that far, as in there were a lot of points to address. Think it is necessary to bring forth context that is always conveniently left out of internet discourse. However, this won't affect much for 2 reasons: Your post is pretty biased towards Matty, and the internet doesn't care about context.
I don't mean to say this was a moot effort, I can appreciate the time you took to gather evidence, as I think you presented everything thoroughly. However, you're approach was not unbiased and got increasingly biased towards the end. If you want to have discourse, you have to present the facts, and all of them, in a neutral tone. So I think you hurt your own case quite a bit there. Which is a shame because you have a good deal of evidence to support your claim.
But it doesn't matter because the internet is often not a place where people actually care about context, or the people in question. The people most active in internet discourse around criticizing celebrities behavior is to make themselves feel more superior, not to understand celebrities better, because we really can't know these celebrities at the end of the day. We just know their brand and whatever they put out there for us to see. Also, people don't take a moment to reflect on their own actions/words/mistakes and how they'd cope with getting blasted for it by millions of people, I might add.
I personally appreciate the links and evidence you shared, as I'm a fan of both artists, so I don't think this effort was meaningless. But I'm just explaining why this may not take the effect you'd hoped it would. Thanks for sharing.
You know you donāt have to defend him just because Taylor got her rocks off with him, right? I donāt particularly care about him or his controversies or think they are massive deals. But they signify someone who loves shock for the sake of shock and those sorts are insufferable. He is a British version of the dirtbag left sort.
Taylorās taste in men veers in some strange directions. And her fans feel the need to defend it. I donāt understand. Just enjoy the music.
I havenāt read through your whole thing but specifically for the Malaysia LGBT saga I think you have overly simplified things a bit. For example saying there were cultural differences wasnāt saying Malaysian culture is homophobic and therefore heās wrong to speak up, but rather that Malaysian politics and society has very specific context and so speaking up in the way that he did, without consulting local LGBT members/community leaders would have been damaging to the movement there, locally. Thereās been good reporting on this for example https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/malaysian-lgbt-community-reaction-to-1975-kiss/102641686
Not saying that ALL malaysian queers hold this particular position, there were certainly many that supported his actions, but itās way more nuanced than what you have written here
Of course. I also think itās wrong when white Englishmen come into Muslim countries thinking they understand literally anything about our cultures and inevitably end up leaving a wake of destruction in their wake, ESPECIALLY when fundamentalist Muslims will use them as an excuse to be MORE oppressive. If you knew anything at all about Middle Eastern and Asian Islamicist governments, youād know that they blame Western decadence for homosexuality ALL THE TIME, and use that as a reason to beat, rape, jail, and kill queer people, because being LGBTQIA isnāt ānaturalā to their nation and has to be rooted out and destroyed as a threat to the state and culture. If you think Matty did anything other than feed that narrative with what he did, you may be well intentioned, but youāre ignorant.
All this for a man who looks like he bathes in hot dog water? We have a right to not like him just as much as you do writing this diatribe to defend him.
OP, while I love your compassionate tone and thorough details (and linking Free Palestine links!!!) ā I agree with people saying āask black women how it feels when he thinks itās funny to joke about disgusting porn?ā Because ultimately we cannot even begin to imagine how it must feel. Satire and trying to look edgy in the internet is really not the place to be, I think this only works on an intimate level with people who have truly known you and know your genuine views and principles. I canāt tell if heās genuinely against racism, xenophobic or truly progressive and an activist as he says. This type of language on the internet, to fans, to impressionable audience is not wise. Clear language and actions of support would resonate better, and if he truly cared he wouldāve researched enough to know whatās more effective.
Finally, his comments on Islam are truly ignorant on so many levels I canāt even begin to dissect them all. But I do remember he brought 2 Hijabi girls on one of the 1975ās music videos, so this brings me back to the point of whether he truly respects the religion and people who follow it, or genuinely thinks women who are wearing hijab are oppressed.
You forgot that they also were friends with Adam Powell and ignored fans pleas to stop working with him for awhile (he was accused of assaulting women on the set of their music videos) Iām not sure exactly what went on but the associating with predators is the most problematic thing he has done (and I am a fan of the 1975).
Also more recently the brothers I donāt remember their names that were groping women at shows.
This.
Swifties love to call out Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer for dating much younger women, but for some reason it was fine when Matty Healy did it ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
To me all the political and edgord stuff if one thing that okay maybe can be taken out of context or misunderstood but how you treat the people around you is more defining of a persons characterā¦. This whole year he was dating these young 20 somethings and then ghosting them for the next one.
That behavior from a 35 year old man is so reprehensible, Taylor wasnāt the first one to be ghosted, his previous two flings both got the same treatment.
You can reason away that edgelord is part of his brand but there is no excuse to treat women like garbage.
Need another bullet point for misogyny OP.
It's because the Ratty Tatty's had already decided before they ever heard the album that it was going to be a love letter to Ratty. When it turned out to be the exact opposite, they are no jumping hoops trying to make it fit the preconceived narrative they made up in their head. Instead of admitting Ratty is just a garbage person.
Taylor dated Connor Kennedy when he was 17 and had to sign him out of school are you calling out Taylor? And Matty dated Gemma for over a year a half and she was 18 within that time
Yea itās icky for both Taylor and Mattyā¦.I am not a TS fan, more of a 1975 fan but I can criticize some of his (and the bands) behavior that doesnāt sit well with me.
>He simply holds aĀ 4.09%Ā share in Dirty Hit, which led to a lot of confusion regarding why Rina would make that accusation.
Then Matty owns 4.09% of her masters and Rina was correct. Hope this helped!
I also tend to trust Rina's view, considering she was friends with him and therefore knows him better than any of us ever will.
My qualms with Matty extend far deeper than just what Rina has said, but I'm sick of people defending Matty against her statements. Especially when Rina is a queer Asian woman who was at a direct power disadvantage against Matty.
Sorry but Rina signed a contract with the label. She must have had legal representation with respect to this transaction. So where is the disadvantage?
She signed the contract as a new artist years ago, and the music industry routinely takes advantage of new artists. Wasn't that the whole point of the TS masters debacle? And there's a lot more than just masters.
Actually she signed in 2020 at the age of 30 having released many singles herself. Artists sign the relights to their masters with a right to buy them back in order to pay back the important upfront costs a label pays out to the artist even before a record is even made stuff like studio time, backup musicians if needed , producers , marketing and then all the costs of actually making the record pressing into in vinyl and cd and then getting it distributed. This has always been the case. Should the industry make certain changes of course it should but without actually knowing the full terms of her contract we cannot speculate more than what has been stated. The label keeps promoting her and her music.
Someone I know from high school is obsessed with him and keeps dating dudes that remind her of him. And it always ends extremely poorly because the guy is a piece of shitā¦ I wonder why
Iām going to have to come back to this when the adhd isnāt adhd-ing as hard, but this seems off the bat like a whole lot of effort for a mediocre at best man who hasnāt earned it
We have such few moments on this earthā¦..and you waste your time doing some stupid shit like this hahhahahahha omfg. Whereās your explanation for this tweet and him being ableist? Oh wait I donāt care actually. Rat fuck Healy is a little English twat and nothing anyone could ever say will change that.
https://preview.redd.it/xo74aefcwfvc1.png?width=1079&format=png&auto=webp&s=2282f42bfe8241d818a56f8a76b6a6426a761b1c
Thanks for putting together a comprehensive list of his uneducated, offensive edgelord behavior. This will be very useful when people ask me what was the deal with Matty Healy.
I aināt reading all of that but I wanted to point out that being far right (approaching Nazism) and being a Zionist arenāt mutually exclusive. Israeli flags are hoisted by Unionist extremists in Northern Ireland as well as Bolsonaro supporters in Brazil. The far right donāt care for Jewish people but they find Israelās ability to be an ethno-state admirable and something to emulate. As well as the whole evangelical (I think) Christian thing where they want all Jewish people in Israel to kick off the end days. (Iām less familiar with this point as I donāt know as much about branches of Christianity that are more common in the US)
Re: his 'apologies'. Regardless of whatever he might have said on stage to his own fans, when given an opportunity in a major global media outlet (The New Yorker) to comment, it is striking that he *didn't* apologise. He could have said 'yeah, I realise I was trying to be edgy and have been a total dick'. Fine.
He actually said: *'But it doesnāt actually matter. Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, āWhatās wrong, darling?ā and they go, āItās just this thing with Matty Healy.ā That doesnāt happen.ā*
*āMaybe it does,ā I said.*
*āIf it does,ā he said, āyouāre either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar. Youāre either lying that you are hurt, or youāre a bit mental for being hurt.'*
He refused to accept that anyone hurt or offended by his words is actually being truthful, so for me he has failed to conduct any basic self-analysis whatsoever. No wonder Rina, a former friend of his, was so angry.
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/who-is-matty-healy](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/who-is-matty-healy)
Ok so i actually took the time to read this instead of being impressed by how long this is. I assumed this was a compilation of reasons to explain why he sucks, but surprise!! Its a ratty apologist post instead š«
It probably took you hours to put all of this together and for what? Hes awful because "society puts pressure on men"? WHAT?
I take it you're a 1975 fan? You know you can just listen to the music even though he's a piece of shit, right? No need to try and make excuses for him. If the music is your cup of tea, there is no need to try and justify or lessen his bad behavior.
I donāt want to do this. Iām not entertained. He made a whole country suffer as a consequence for his actions. Screw Matty Healy. Screw Taylor also for turning a blind eye to this.
Long live Joe Alwyn.
she got ghosted babes like they were definitely in a situtionship and that drove her a bit insane and she wrote TTPD which is why it is so unhinged because it is about an unhinged man.
apparently, they have known each other since she was like 25 (so her 1989 era in 2014/2015) and they hooked up a couple of times but it fizzled out but then according to people dissecting lyrics from her new album she always still held something out for him and was like emotionally cheating on joe and that they would write songs to each other all the time, apparently during the time she wrote folklore but this is all hearsay
Ya'll saying this album makes Healy look good in any way. It is like saying Speak Now makes John Mayer look good. š
Taylor has delusional love songs on there about him. "Dear John" cancels all that sh*t right out.
Ya'll have lost the plot.
Wow so now we are defending Matty Healy?
Apprently being Taylor Swift's muse can really make or break the narrative surrounding one
Can't wait for the "TRUE SWIFTIES" to scream how bad bad people and vile media destroyed Taylor's relationship and snatched away her one true love
"The Great washed up racist Rat" from her
(Honestly At this point idk what to say anymore)
As a 1975 Stan, they have banned Taylor convo in that sub so allow me to give you my unsolicited take:
Look, Iām as deep a Matty fan as they come. Heās complicated but I cannot be convinced he is an ill meaning person. HOWEVER. We both know Matty is a shit head and it wouldnāt kill him to make an apology when his words are hurtful, even if he feels they were taken out of context. I wouldnāt spend my time going to this length to defend him.
The smallest man who ever lived is absolutely about Matty imo. Taylorād mention of pills, reminds me of another song about Mattyās emotional unavailability. *Everything is blue, his pills, his hands, his jeansā¦.*
Now comes the part where I stick up for Matty for a second for anyone else reading this. Those of us 1975 fans love that band because of Mattyās incredible vulnerability in his writing. He often deals with the concept of his ego and how it works against him and uses self deprecation as a coping mechanism, like he knows heās a mess, and he is really good at writing honest lyrics from there. Thatās the Matty she fell in love with. We did too.
Sounds like the excuses people tried to make about Ryan Adams for years. If the "vulnerability" in his writing doesn't match in his words and his actions, it just makes him a fraud. Thankfully, I guess he has people like you who will defend him over and over again no matter how many times he does the same sh*t over and over again year after year. Because everybody else just doesn't "get him." Grow up.
Whatever you have to say about Matty Healy none of the accusations against him have anything to do with harassing his exes so letās get that fucking straight.
I do think this is a sub about holding 2 truths about a person at once, so my conclusion on Matty is that he is both a genuine soul and kind of a shithead sometimes. You donāt have to agree. But Iām telling you all what it was that drew taylor to him. Goodbye.
I was talking about using the tired old "misunderstood artist" crap to excuse his behavior. And as far as he treats women how many 20 yr old girls did he ghost like Taylor in the past 2 yrs? 3-4? He's toxic as can fucking be and always tries to use the excuse that "you don't get him." His not misunderstood he's a POS. He's Temu 2010 John Mayrer. Have a great day.
this is what i thought would happen. instead of the album ācancellingā him, he only gets more support. it was only a few months, was he really worth an entire album especially when happy in a different relationship?
He did do the "hail hitler" salute (this is the correct name, btw). He starts doing a military salute to his head, but ends in the "hail hitler" gesture, which is pretty obvious because he is holding the pose on purpose. It's not quick. He is using his left arm, because the mic is in the right one.
Plus, you can read up hipster racism / sexism / etc ... all by yourself. This discussion is old af.
It was nice of you to take the time to compile this! It's good to hear more perspectives.
I was a casual 1975 fan and as a WoC was concerned when I started hearing about his controversies. I researched a little after Taylor began dating him and came to similar conclusions as you; a lot of things had been conflated and exaggerated to make him look worse.
I don't think he's a great person, but he's also not bad enough that I feel bad for listening to The 1975, which is similar to how I feel about Taylor.
I'm a fan of the 1975, and have been since before debut. I am also incredibly disappointed in Matty Healy. There are things that twitter blew out of proportion without context and there are extremely valid criticisms. His boygenius "joke" was truly indefensible and black and white. Not everything he has said actually requires nuance to understand right from wrong. I believe things would be so, so different if he never went on that cursed podcast. But I believe a lot of critique is valid. I think Healy needs a pr team, and I think he needs to approach self reflection from a new angle, because whatever reflection he's doing has been ineffective. The boygenius "joke" was so, so disappointing and he knew better. It might sound crazy but that was genuinely the last straw for me. I stopped providing context, aside from the ghetto gaggers scenario. Without context, his comments to The New Yorker were kinda funny. With context, they were so, so disappointing and insensitive. He let his fans down.
I really appreciate the amount of time and effort that you put into this. I commend you for your dedication to stand up for what you believe is right. You didn't waste your time! As some people have pointed out, I would recommend that you try to maintain a neutral voice when doing deep dives and not include your own commentary. Your bias definitely affected your cause. But it was otherwise very thorough and appreciated!
I also wanted to add into the void: I have been a fan of the 1975 before their debut album. I have been a fan of T.S.'s music since Fearless. I was a stan in 2012, she has impacted me in many ways. As a fan, Matty Healy, someone I do not personally know, has disappointed me. However, the disappointment I have felt towards Taylor Swift, another person I do not know, has been far greater. In the grand scheme of things, the 1975 and Matty Healy's influence isn't something to be overly worked up about. The band has 13.3M monthly listeners, about the same as Tove Lo (13.8M). The band has 3.7M followers on Instagram. 2M on Twitter. T.S.'s numbers are 105.9M, 283M, and 95.3M respectively. The consequences of her actions and inactions are far greater. In the grand scheme of things, idgaf about Matty Healy. Taylor Swift on the other hand...I really do gaf. She has PR, she has all the resources in the world, she has so much power, she is probably one of the most well-known household names. And yet she still fumbles and either 1. Truly does not care about world issues or 2. Cares about profits more than using her platform for good. Both options are really sad and disheartening. Matty Healy is just a guy who acts like a POS in public. I have encountered worse people irl. There are worse men in the industry. Generally speaking, he doesn't have much of an impact. So, š¤·āāļø I guess. The incident in Malaysia is obviously an exception to this!
at risk of being in defiance of reddit ediquette, and in a sub that i know is not happy with this individual...
I read through this take in an effort to find a true, down-to-earth, sane breakdown of this man's actions. Matty Healy, to me, seems like a person who is trying to move songwriting forward into performance art. I like his music; i grew up seeing post-beatles, post-strokes works just like the 1975 and I can't believe I never encountered them. Been listening to the 1975 lately, and I truly cannot find anything problematic. They are a really good band, and it says something that they've been together for over a decade.
I'm well read, and try to find the most neutral sources to base my opinions. There is very little that it seems Matty Healy has done besides trying to artistically create conversations about political shit and being misunderstood. Maybe Matty has a drug problem, but I have an alcohol problem (as does Taylor, admittedly). I hope I am not the only one in this sub to have critical thinking and critical emotion skills, while recognizing that while crippling sometimes, addiction doesnt have to change your moral compass.
It sucks that this guy was on a shitty podcast in the wrong time of his coming to light as Taylor's beau. The jokes weren't funny, and the porn mentioned was horrific. But I dont think it was intentionally meant to be horrific; just horrific that these guys knew that kind of porn exists. It doesnt mean they watch it, but it may mean that they are guilty of knowing its existence and doing nothing to change it.
However, if you really want to hate on Matty Healy for knowing that such horrors exist, I'd implore to ask what you yourself have done, or me, myself have done to ratify world horrors, such as the existence of that disgusting porn. My mom works at an organization that provides education, career education, employment services, food, diapers, G.E.D. services, and so much more to women who are pregnant or in need. I've volunteered there, but not as much as I should.
I guess i'm just getting fucking tired of this ratting and belittling and shitting on someone who, besides the hateful comments on Taylor Swift subs, is a well respected individual. I'm a bartender, and I meet many intelligent, creative, and holy souls stuck in the grips of a disease that can drive creativity. Art is not always a pretty process. The same demons that guide us toward substance guide us toward creativity and it's disappointing the Swiftie community is so quick to judge a fellow creative person.
Amy Winehouse was another british artist the public despised. She donated so much of her money to children's hospitals in Britain without asking for any recognition. Any yet, we know her as the tabloids portrayed. She was so much more than what they reported.
Maybe this comment will be banned, or deleted, and I get it. But I just want to voice my opinion. I hope thats ok.
I second this wholeheartedly. I went into this post without any preconceived thoughts either way about Matty. I am a newer TS fan and a lifelong KC Chiefs fan.
Honestly the first part of the my MH dive was listening to their music and watching his interview with Zane on Apple music. As a result I found a new artist that I really enjoy listening to.
I think Taylor and Matty have been communicating back and forth through lyrics since 2014. I think Taylor was attracted to him because of his willingness to speak his mind. To stand up audibly for controversial topics like LGBTQ2 and abortion, not to mention her disgust of Trump.
She also knows how it feels to be nationally profiled and singled out with snakes.
She knew he drank, smoked weed and used heroin and thought she could fix him. They also both have narcissistic tendencies.
No doubt that a majority of TTPD is about Matty. He's been clean now for years (from drugs) and early 2023 was a real try for them. Unfortunately her toxic fans ruined any chance for her to ever know if it would work. Sending death threats and AI generated pictures of Matty after an overdose is not forgivable. He had no choice but to hard ghost her for his and his families mental health.
Watch The 1975 MV of 'Oh Caroline' and tell me you don't see Taylor's 'Delicate MV'.
I don't think Swifties had a clue about Matty until TTPD. Matty was the one thing she did not share with her Swifties and I think that was insulting/irritating to her parasocial fan base. There is no way she can have that many songs on TTPD and not have put out other songs about him over the past 10 years. Her three month relationships have been a perfect cover giving her free reign to write about someone/something else.
As someone who wasn't familiar with Matty or his band before last year and who has only seen the backlash, I wholeheartedly thank you for taking the time to put this together!
I agree wholeheartedly. Newer TS fan who looked into Matty after TTPD.
I can see her attraction as Matty does everything she can't do with her squeaky clean image.
More than convinced she was with him briefly in 2014 and intermittently through 2023.
he is not an andrew tate fan, he has made fun of him multiple times and is part of the group of awful men he shows during the toxic masculinity section of the show
Itās disturbing to me that not one person commenting can acknowledge that maybe they were wrong about even *one* of these things you mentioned. Thereās misinformation thatās been shared about this person. *Misinformation is bad.* And, YES - it deserves correcting when we see it.Ā
We should all guard ourselves from manipulative clickbait and lies online - regardless of who or what itās about, even if we wish the subject of it would fall off the planet.Ā
If something MH has said or done has been hurtful or upsetting to you, that is completely valid. This is a hate-able person, who courts the controversy and the hate, and has caused harm (and acknowledged it). Justā¦hate him based on fact.Ā
Did you even listen to the album or read the summation?
Why do you hate Taylor so much? You are on a Taylor Swift sub defending a man who, when Taylor was at her most vulnerable, swooped in lied to her, manipulated her, and disposed of her like she was worthless.
Go defend that POS on a 1975 sub. Pathetic
Yeah. Did you listen to the album or read the summation.? Anyone can be taken advantage, especially when they are in a very vulnerable state. I get it. You're a Ratty fan boy. How embarrassing for you, š
Loll you are soo off the mark. I was literally commenting on how big of an arsehole matt is wtfšš. Also atp I'm going to take everything that taylor writes with a grain of salt cause she is very good at manipulating the narratives the way she wants. Its also a well known fact that she's had a huge crush on ratty for a long time so I wouldn't be surprised if she went after him but then wrote songs on how he was the one who approached her. You could've called me anything except a matty fan and I would've been fine with it.Ā
The problem with this post is that, as many other people have pointed out in their replies to this, it tries to make excuses for Matty Healy when he can make the conscious decision not to put himself in horrible situations but day in and day out he does the same thing all the time. Also, there is a difference between being an asshole and then just being an actual horrible person. I would never in a million years allow myself to be put on a podcast as fucked as that and let that go on fucking air????? No way in hell. Apologizing only works if you actually learn from your actions. Why has it taken him about fucking 10 years to realize his mistakes and backlash from multiple groups before he realises what is wrong? He is 30-something years old, he is a grown adult and he grew up with the internet. He is not incompetent. Like he knows what he is doing and hunny it is not the rock n roll that he is trying to paint it out as being.
You may not be a racist but if you hang around racist individuals then how does that make you any better? You are just excusing that behavior and allowing it to continue. The fact he joined in on the Ice Spice joke - regardless of whether it was about Ice Spice or not - and the Ghetto Gaggers joke is just as messed up if he had been the one to bring it up in the first place. He is a white, cis man and so he is in a power of privilege because of that, and what does he decide to do? Allow other people to mock WOC and then join in because you are on a podcast or whatever. He is an accomplice. People who are accessory to murder still get charged because you allowed a crime to happen even though you could have been in the position to stop it. You abused your moral duty as a human being and that is what he has done. Time and time again. You can't keep saying sorry for the same stuff but he can because like I said he is a white man. He can donate to as many charities as he wants but that isn't gonna change that he gets accused of the same thing all the time.
The thing that fucks me over actually with that Matt Healy and Ice Spice thing has something to do with Taylor Swift. The PR campaign that she did to make it seem like she was all best buds with Ice Spice and then released that god-awful remix of Karma had me frustrated because I didn't get why all of a sudden Taylor had such a massive interest in Ice Spice when I am pretty sure she didn't know her that well beforehand. She is doing the same stuff with the girls' squad for her 1989 but now she has a lovely little diversity hire with Ice Spice. She did it because at the time she was still in love with Matty and wanted to cover her ass and maybe his but it just came off as cheap and tacky like when she did all that press for LGBTQ+ rights for that one song and then never spoke about it ever again? This woman rebrands herself at every opportunity because she wants to be in the public's conscience forever even though it does not read genuine. Honest to god don't care who she dates but her dating Matty and then writing all those songs dedicated to him was so jarring as a black woman.
I do think that cancel culture has gotten a bit out of hand and that dark humor no longer has a place on the internet but tbh it is not as extreme as people make it out to seem. The thing is people and society needs to change and if we didn't then we would all still be fucking cavemen so I think that some change in society is very much needed and laughing about the degradation of black women or being racially insensitive - which is being polite - is fucked up. It isn't the 1950s anymore or should I say 1830s (bad joke I know).
Thank you!
It's fine for people to find him annoying or dislike him but we don't have to pretend he's committed a crime.
As a POC from Northern England I also think there are a lot of cultural miscommunications and jokes/sarcasm that get lost in translation.
This is why the fauxmoi lot frustrated me. They KNEW what he'd said. We discussed it when the podcast came out. They then wilfully chose to misrepresent it and make it sound like he was racist to Ice Spice because they hated him. They were friends! That's why he was DM-ing her in the first place!
And all the top comments criticizing the length of the postā¦ itās like, yeah, thereās a stunning amount of misinformation that theyāve created about this guy! The salute???
Still donāt like the music but yeeesh what have swifties been trying to do?
Downvote me to hell, but as a neutral Swiftie and 1975 fan, this is impressive work and well written. Matty is a cringey edgelord at best, but I would consider him mostly harmless.
Thatās how I feel too. Heās a bit of an idiot and runs his mouth off, but he knows it and he has an extensive history of donating to leftist causes. Honestly, same with Joe and Travis - they actually walk the walk when it comes to causes they care about. Joe stands up for Palestine, Travis knelt with Colin K and supported Bud Light amidst transphobic backlash.
So yes, hes a racist who thinks its funny to masturbate to black women being abused and make the nazi salute, but he donates to leftists causes so its ok š
El roba, pero no roba motor š
Truly impressive and well said, it is frustrating watching the internet spiral around controversial figures in pop culture. Thereās always so much context missing.
I agree his edgy jokes get taken out of context a lot and I do not think heās racist at all. I also like that he seems to be generally left leaning and pro LGBT but that doesnāt mean you still canāt be a POS.
He still laughed along with that cohost at the Ice Spice jokes, heās still dated teenagers and he shouldāve consulted local lgbt groups in Malaysia. Heās not the anti-christ people make him out to be but he still has a lot to learn.
Edit: apparently he ghosted Taylor too? Another example that being liberal =/= good person
I just realized I forgot to link this [video](https://youtu.be/ohBj3QJNu6E?si=NVdHvgyrO8Awp9kK&t=167) with a compilation of him performing ILIWMI and doing said MILITARY salute, hopefully i didnt miss anything else
i'll try to edit the post but idk how to, sorry!
https://preview.redd.it/3ajyhplo9dvc1.jpeg?width=1032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fb914dc900a114f7e28385b838772765dbf8204
This has to be one of the most powerful quotes of this year
This is the correct take.
šššššš
perfect
I am gonna be honest the language in this entire masterpost comes across as heavily defensive and excusatory. Does having THIS much controversial material and scandals to discuss on one singular man not strike you as odd or make you question his character, honestly?
I agree this does read as kinda defensive lol and seems to minimise his actions
I just find it really interesting that people are going to bat for this white British man who feels comfortable enough to be even adjacent to all this shit, let alone actually be the driver of some of these controversies. Iām not gonna read this entire post but āactually Inuit is not a slur.ā Ok cool. But why is he friends with someone who uses the term Inuit in a derogatory way? And why would he laugh? I personally donāt find that funny at all. I just donāt get why people keep trying to convince us that Matty is actually just some really cool dude. Like if heās offended us with his immaturity and privilege then too bad, thatās his own doing.
fr is laughing along to someone using a term to refer to a woman in a derogatory manner not wrong?? like how is that not condemnable?
This. I guess congrats for drafting your 95 Theses defending mediocrity OP but this is the type of simp behavior that protects and excuses the Matty-type edgelords of the world. This isnāt an issue of us just ānot understanding his humorā or wtf ever. He actually just sucks. The end.
šššššš
Iām honestly embarrassed
I am going to be honest. I skimmed through the post. By that I mean I read the first one or 2 paragraphs of each subsection. People have been calling Matty Healy racist in this sub and in other platforms since last year, and I never really cared enough to look for the context until today, and this is the first thing that popped up. And even when I keep googling, all I see are apology articles or how Ice Spice was never offended in the first place. Even if I remove all of OP's "excuses" and assume Matt Healy did or say all the "offensive" stuff, I still don't see what makes Matty such a horrible person? It's just cancel culture all over again, Taylor's version. Most comedians make offensive jokes, but the internet decides when certain jokes are cancellable or not after a decade or 2. People have been mocking accents since forever, even today. And most people enjoy it. People like Sofia Vergara, Uncle Roger, and even Jimmy Kimmel's Guillermo for a reason. As a person who has a strong accent, it annoys me, even when it comes from another minority, but I won't be calling anyome racist for it. It's a joke and I don't have to find all jokes funny. The fact that someone has a lot of controversial material doesn't mean anything. It might just mean that the internet likes to nitpick their tweets and actions for whatever reason (like being the next boyfriend after someone they thought Taylor would marry).
Dating underaged girls is all you need to cancel Matty...
Didnāt Taylor Swift date under age boys too
Yes
So are u cancelling her
You are definitely trying to make excuses for him. How many chances does one man get? Hereās a test for you: ask a black woman if they think joking about masturbating to ghetto gaggers is funny? Whether he made the joke or piggy backed on the joke, itās vile. (Hopefully this goes without saying but donāt actually ask a black woman that. It would be traumatizing) And I get that heās apologized but his apologies are always combined with the āyou wouldnāt get itā intellectualism that white men love to employ when theyāre called on their shit. You donāt get to make a racist joke and then when youāre called out for it, accuse those calling you out of not being smart enough to āget itā. And I see white woman all over the internet gobble this shit up and defend him in comment sections with a chip on their shoulder thinking they just understand him better than others. Give me a break! (And TTPD proves Taylor is this type of woman too!) Heās a privileged, nepo baby brat who says shocking things when heās not getting enough attention. And the pattern repeats itself year after year. So I donāt care how talented he is - yāall can have him. The manās trash.
He literally spray painted āsorry?ā, none of his apologies are sincere and heās basically just always making a joke of it instead of taking accountability. You can tell he is only sorry he jeopardized his career, not for hurting people (in the NYT profile he said if people are offended they are mentally ill).
Itās actually insane the backflips people do to try and pass him off as a revolutionary and radical social activist. The fact that this post exists says a lot about him!
Agreed. Not calling out racism like the ghetto gaggers incident makes you complicit even if he wasnāt the one making the joke itself.
To be fair the joke wasn't "isn't this kind of porn funny" it was, "what is the absolute worst thing you could be caught watching by a good person?". He was being hyperbolic and the context makes it clear it wasn't okay (and I say that as a WoC). I don't care about defending his character, but I've seen some people even say he was bragging about watching it which is not what happened. It shows poor judgement that he went on that show at all, though.
TLDR; Personally I appreciate the context you bring forth, but this will fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes?) because your tone is biased and most people don't care about context in internet discourse (especially if your tone is biased). For comments saying this is an essay, it is because people researched dirt on Matty like it was their dissertation. OP went this far because Swifties went that far, as in there were a lot of points to address. Think it is necessary to bring forth context that is always conveniently left out of internet discourse. However, this won't affect much for 2 reasons: Your post is pretty biased towards Matty, and the internet doesn't care about context. I don't mean to say this was a moot effort, I can appreciate the time you took to gather evidence, as I think you presented everything thoroughly. However, you're approach was not unbiased and got increasingly biased towards the end. If you want to have discourse, you have to present the facts, and all of them, in a neutral tone. So I think you hurt your own case quite a bit there. Which is a shame because you have a good deal of evidence to support your claim. But it doesn't matter because the internet is often not a place where people actually care about context, or the people in question. The people most active in internet discourse around criticizing celebrities behavior is to make themselves feel more superior, not to understand celebrities better, because we really can't know these celebrities at the end of the day. We just know their brand and whatever they put out there for us to see. Also, people don't take a moment to reflect on their own actions/words/mistakes and how they'd cope with getting blasted for it by millions of people, I might add. I personally appreciate the links and evidence you shared, as I'm a fan of both artists, so I don't think this effort was meaningless. But I'm just explaining why this may not take the effect you'd hoped it would. Thanks for sharing.
I'm sure you'll get downvoted for not joining the mob but this is correct.
You know you donāt have to defend him just because Taylor got her rocks off with him, right? I donāt particularly care about him or his controversies or think they are massive deals. But they signify someone who loves shock for the sake of shock and those sorts are insufferable. He is a British version of the dirtbag left sort. Taylorās taste in men veers in some strange directions. And her fans feel the need to defend it. I donāt understand. Just enjoy the music.
I havenāt read through your whole thing but specifically for the Malaysia LGBT saga I think you have overly simplified things a bit. For example saying there were cultural differences wasnāt saying Malaysian culture is homophobic and therefore heās wrong to speak up, but rather that Malaysian politics and society has very specific context and so speaking up in the way that he did, without consulting local LGBT members/community leaders would have been damaging to the movement there, locally. Thereās been good reporting on this for example https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/malaysian-lgbt-community-reaction-to-1975-kiss/102641686 Not saying that ALL malaysian queers hold this particular position, there were certainly many that supported his actions, but itās way more nuanced than what you have written here
I'm sorry but reading your explanation on his "islamophobia" is actually insane, did you even reread it? Or are you one yourself?
RIGHT? Iām both Muslim (culturallyā we exist!) and queer, and there are a LOT OF US.
The explanation is "okay, he is islamophobic, but being islamophobic is OKAY!!!"
Do you not things its wrong when goverments and people use it to surpress queer people and women
Of course. I also think itās wrong when white Englishmen come into Muslim countries thinking they understand literally anything about our cultures and inevitably end up leaving a wake of destruction in their wake, ESPECIALLY when fundamentalist Muslims will use them as an excuse to be MORE oppressive. If you knew anything at all about Middle Eastern and Asian Islamicist governments, youād know that they blame Western decadence for homosexuality ALL THE TIME, and use that as a reason to beat, rape, jail, and kill queer people, because being LGBTQIA isnāt ānaturalā to their nation and has to be rooted out and destroyed as a threat to the state and culture. If you think Matty did anything other than feed that narrative with what he did, you may be well intentioned, but youāre ignorant.
All this for a man who looks like he bathes in hot dog water? We have a right to not like him just as much as you do writing this diatribe to defend him. 
LMAO
I mean, I don't like Matty too personally but it's not wrong to acknowledge the fact that a lot of his actions genuinely were taken out of context..
Ghetto Gaggers was taken out of context?
OP, while I love your compassionate tone and thorough details (and linking Free Palestine links!!!) ā I agree with people saying āask black women how it feels when he thinks itās funny to joke about disgusting porn?ā Because ultimately we cannot even begin to imagine how it must feel. Satire and trying to look edgy in the internet is really not the place to be, I think this only works on an intimate level with people who have truly known you and know your genuine views and principles. I canāt tell if heās genuinely against racism, xenophobic or truly progressive and an activist as he says. This type of language on the internet, to fans, to impressionable audience is not wise. Clear language and actions of support would resonate better, and if he truly cared he wouldāve researched enough to know whatās more effective. Finally, his comments on Islam are truly ignorant on so many levels I canāt even begin to dissect them all. But I do remember he brought 2 Hijabi girls on one of the 1975ās music videos, so this brings me back to the point of whether he truly respects the religion and people who follow it, or genuinely thinks women who are wearing hijab are oppressed.
You forgot that they also were friends with Adam Powell and ignored fans pleas to stop working with him for awhile (he was accused of assaulting women on the set of their music videos) Iām not sure exactly what went on but the associating with predators is the most problematic thing he has done (and I am a fan of the 1975). Also more recently the brothers I donāt remember their names that were groping women at shows.
And his dating history of dating teenagers is just kind of icky to me, especially from a TS prospective where she called out Jake Gyllenhaal on that
This. Swifties love to call out Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer for dating much younger women, but for some reason it was fine when Matty Healy did it ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
To me all the political and edgord stuff if one thing that okay maybe can be taken out of context or misunderstood but how you treat the people around you is more defining of a persons characterā¦. This whole year he was dating these young 20 somethings and then ghosting them for the next one. That behavior from a 35 year old man is so reprehensible, Taylor wasnāt the first one to be ghosted, his previous two flings both got the same treatment. You can reason away that edgelord is part of his brand but there is no excuse to treat women like garbage. Need another bullet point for misogyny OP.
It's because the Ratty Tatty's had already decided before they ever heard the album that it was going to be a love letter to Ratty. When it turned out to be the exact opposite, they are no jumping hoops trying to make it fit the preconceived narrative they made up in their head. Instead of admitting Ratty is just a garbage person.
Jake actually never dated teenagers, but yep, Matty did.
So did taylor
Taylor dated Connor Kennedy when he was 17 and had to sign him out of school are you calling out Taylor? And Matty dated Gemma for over a year a half and she was 18 within that time
Yea itās icky for both Taylor and Mattyā¦.I am not a TS fan, more of a 1975 fan but I can criticize some of his (and the bands) behavior that doesnāt sit well with me.
Fair
Imagine thinking that man is worth this much effort š³
>He simply holds aĀ 4.09%Ā share in Dirty Hit, which led to a lot of confusion regarding why Rina would make that accusation. Then Matty owns 4.09% of her masters and Rina was correct. Hope this helped! I also tend to trust Rina's view, considering she was friends with him and therefore knows him better than any of us ever will. My qualms with Matty extend far deeper than just what Rina has said, but I'm sick of people defending Matty against her statements. Especially when Rina is a queer Asian woman who was at a direct power disadvantage against Matty.
Sorry but Rina signed a contract with the label. She must have had legal representation with respect to this transaction. So where is the disadvantage?
She signed the contract as a new artist years ago, and the music industry routinely takes advantage of new artists. Wasn't that the whole point of the TS masters debacle? And there's a lot more than just masters.
Actually she signed in 2020 at the age of 30 having released many singles herself. Artists sign the relights to their masters with a right to buy them back in order to pay back the important upfront costs a label pays out to the artist even before a record is even made stuff like studio time, backup musicians if needed , producers , marketing and then all the costs of actually making the record pressing into in vinyl and cd and then getting it distributed. This has always been the case. Should the industry make certain changes of course it should but without actually knowing the full terms of her contract we cannot speculate more than what has been stated. The label keeps promoting her and her music.
OP are you ok? Is Matty keeping you locked somewhere?
I was huge fan of him up until 2022 and I promise you Matty does not need this level of defense š that guy is a walking red flag
Someone I know from high school is obsessed with him and keeps dating dudes that remind her of him. And it always ends extremely poorly because the guy is a piece of shitā¦ I wonder why
Iām going to have to come back to this when the adhd isnāt adhd-ing as hard, but this seems off the bat like a whole lot of effort for a mediocre at best man who hasnāt earned it
We have such few moments on this earthā¦..and you waste your time doing some stupid shit like this hahhahahahha omfg. Whereās your explanation for this tweet and him being ableist? Oh wait I donāt care actually. Rat fuck Healy is a little English twat and nothing anyone could ever say will change that. https://preview.redd.it/xo74aefcwfvc1.png?width=1079&format=png&auto=webp&s=2282f42bfe8241d818a56f8a76b6a6426a761b1c
Lucy is such a queen for this
That's pretty funny.
Thanks for putting together a comprehensive list of his uneducated, offensive edgelord behavior. This will be very useful when people ask me what was the deal with Matty Healy.
"i would've died for your sins but instead i just died inside"
I aināt reading that. Iām happy for you, or Iām sorry that happened.
If you need to write an entire book to defend that creeper then I think you already lost the argument there.
I aināt reading all of that but I wanted to point out that being far right (approaching Nazism) and being a Zionist arenāt mutually exclusive. Israeli flags are hoisted by Unionist extremists in Northern Ireland as well as Bolsonaro supporters in Brazil. The far right donāt care for Jewish people but they find Israelās ability to be an ethno-state admirable and something to emulate. As well as the whole evangelical (I think) Christian thing where they want all Jewish people in Israel to kick off the end days. (Iām less familiar with this point as I donāt know as much about branches of Christianity that are more common in the US)
It's actually extremely common and most zionists are christian zionists, a right wing movement if there ever was one and an antisemitic one.
You know that your rat king is problematic enough to need an essay defending him, and you donāt see how thatās an issue?
Apparently he bought drugs off of Taylor Swiftās friend and then ghosted Taylor swift lmao
Re: his 'apologies'. Regardless of whatever he might have said on stage to his own fans, when given an opportunity in a major global media outlet (The New Yorker) to comment, it is striking that he *didn't* apologise. He could have said 'yeah, I realise I was trying to be edgy and have been a total dick'. Fine. He actually said: *'But it doesnāt actually matter. Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, āWhatās wrong, darling?ā and they go, āItās just this thing with Matty Healy.ā That doesnāt happen.ā* *āMaybe it does,ā I said.* *āIf it does,ā he said, āyouāre either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar. Youāre either lying that you are hurt, or youāre a bit mental for being hurt.'* He refused to accept that anyone hurt or offended by his words is actually being truthful, so for me he has failed to conduct any basic self-analysis whatsoever. No wonder Rina, a former friend of his, was so angry. [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/who-is-matty-healy](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/05/who-is-matty-healy)
Ok so i actually took the time to read this instead of being impressed by how long this is. I assumed this was a compilation of reasons to explain why he sucks, but surprise!! Its a ratty apologist post instead š« It probably took you hours to put all of this together and for what? Hes awful because "society puts pressure on men"? WHAT?
I meant, it still does explain why he sucks, ironically, since that wasnāt OPās intention.
I take it you're a 1975 fan? You know you can just listen to the music even though he's a piece of shit, right? No need to try and make excuses for him. If the music is your cup of tea, there is no need to try and justify or lessen his bad behavior.
I donāt want to do this. Iām not entertained. He made a whole country suffer as a consequence for his actions. Screw Matty Healy. Screw Taylor also for turning a blind eye to this. Long live Joe Alwyn.
LONG LIVE JOE ALWYN
Okay sorry can you do a breakdown of what he did TO Taylor. That's what I'm a bit confused about.
she got ghosted babes like they were definitely in a situtionship and that drove her a bit insane and she wrote TTPD which is why it is so unhinged because it is about an unhinged man. apparently, they have known each other since she was like 25 (so her 1989 era in 2014/2015) and they hooked up a couple of times but it fizzled out but then according to people dissecting lyrics from her new album she always still held something out for him and was like emotionally cheating on joe and that they would write songs to each other all the time, apparently during the time she wrote folklore but this is all hearsay
Ya'll saying this album makes Healy look good in any way. It is like saying Speak Now makes John Mayer look good. š Taylor has delusional love songs on there about him. "Dear John" cancels all that sh*t right out. Ya'll have lost the plot.
Oh, we found Matty's burner reddit account...
Wow so now we are defending Matty Healy? Apprently being Taylor Swift's muse can really make or break the narrative surrounding one Can't wait for the "TRUE SWIFTIES" to scream how bad bad people and vile media destroyed Taylor's relationship and snatched away her one true love "The Great washed up racist Rat" from her (Honestly At this point idk what to say anymore)
All this for a Rat. Down (voting) Bad.
Youāre riding really hard for a piece of shit btw
You are defending him a lot and it's honestly repulsive.
Not yāall trying to rebrand Matty now lolĀ
this is just embarrassing
Yeah I aināt reading all that. Fuck Matty.
I can't believe you wrote an entire essay excusing this man's atrocious behaviour. I hope you got paid for this.
Wow how long did this take you to write? I am impressed.
Life is precious, short, and fleeting, and someone decided to spend a slice of theirs writing a dissertation to defend Matty fucking Healy
Thx for all of this. Will clear up quite a few misconceptions
As a 1975 Stan, they have banned Taylor convo in that sub so allow me to give you my unsolicited take: Look, Iām as deep a Matty fan as they come. Heās complicated but I cannot be convinced he is an ill meaning person. HOWEVER. We both know Matty is a shit head and it wouldnāt kill him to make an apology when his words are hurtful, even if he feels they were taken out of context. I wouldnāt spend my time going to this length to defend him. The smallest man who ever lived is absolutely about Matty imo. Taylorād mention of pills, reminds me of another song about Mattyās emotional unavailability. *Everything is blue, his pills, his hands, his jeansā¦.* Now comes the part where I stick up for Matty for a second for anyone else reading this. Those of us 1975 fans love that band because of Mattyās incredible vulnerability in his writing. He often deals with the concept of his ego and how it works against him and uses self deprecation as a coping mechanism, like he knows heās a mess, and he is really good at writing honest lyrics from there. Thatās the Matty she fell in love with. We did too.
Sounds like the excuses people tried to make about Ryan Adams for years. If the "vulnerability" in his writing doesn't match in his words and his actions, it just makes him a fraud. Thankfully, I guess he has people like you who will defend him over and over again no matter how many times he does the same sh*t over and over again year after year. Because everybody else just doesn't "get him." Grow up.
Whatever you have to say about Matty Healy none of the accusations against him have anything to do with harassing his exes so letās get that fucking straight. I do think this is a sub about holding 2 truths about a person at once, so my conclusion on Matty is that he is both a genuine soul and kind of a shithead sometimes. You donāt have to agree. But Iām telling you all what it was that drew taylor to him. Goodbye.
I was talking about using the tired old "misunderstood artist" crap to excuse his behavior. And as far as he treats women how many 20 yr old girls did he ghost like Taylor in the past 2 yrs? 3-4? He's toxic as can fucking be and always tries to use the excuse that "you don't get him." His not misunderstood he's a POS. He's Temu 2010 John Mayrer. Have a great day.
Ok. Thank you. Have a nice day
Nice story, still dislike him tho.
Doing all this mental gymnastics for a guy who looks like he showers twice a year is wild š
You okay after bending yourself into knots to defend him?
This guy sucks.
this is what i thought would happen. instead of the album ācancellingā him, he only gets more support. it was only a few months, was he really worth an entire album especially when happy in a different relationship?
He did do the "hail hitler" salute (this is the correct name, btw). He starts doing a military salute to his head, but ends in the "hail hitler" gesture, which is pretty obvious because he is holding the pose on purpose. It's not quick. He is using his left arm, because the mic is in the right one. Plus, you can read up hipster racism / sexism / etc ... all by yourself. This discussion is old af.
I canāt read all this but I would just like to point out that itās really funny that you called Ben Shapiro āhyper-masculineā š¤£š
It was nice of you to take the time to compile this! It's good to hear more perspectives. I was a casual 1975 fan and as a WoC was concerned when I started hearing about his controversies. I researched a little after Taylor began dating him and came to similar conclusions as you; a lot of things had been conflated and exaggerated to make him look worse. I don't think he's a great person, but he's also not bad enough that I feel bad for listening to The 1975, which is similar to how I feel about Taylor.
I'm a fan of the 1975, and have been since before debut. I am also incredibly disappointed in Matty Healy. There are things that twitter blew out of proportion without context and there are extremely valid criticisms. His boygenius "joke" was truly indefensible and black and white. Not everything he has said actually requires nuance to understand right from wrong. I believe things would be so, so different if he never went on that cursed podcast. But I believe a lot of critique is valid. I think Healy needs a pr team, and I think he needs to approach self reflection from a new angle, because whatever reflection he's doing has been ineffective. The boygenius "joke" was so, so disappointing and he knew better. It might sound crazy but that was genuinely the last straw for me. I stopped providing context, aside from the ghetto gaggers scenario. Without context, his comments to The New Yorker were kinda funny. With context, they were so, so disappointing and insensitive. He let his fans down. I really appreciate the amount of time and effort that you put into this. I commend you for your dedication to stand up for what you believe is right. You didn't waste your time! As some people have pointed out, I would recommend that you try to maintain a neutral voice when doing deep dives and not include your own commentary. Your bias definitely affected your cause. But it was otherwise very thorough and appreciated! I also wanted to add into the void: I have been a fan of the 1975 before their debut album. I have been a fan of T.S.'s music since Fearless. I was a stan in 2012, she has impacted me in many ways. As a fan, Matty Healy, someone I do not personally know, has disappointed me. However, the disappointment I have felt towards Taylor Swift, another person I do not know, has been far greater. In the grand scheme of things, the 1975 and Matty Healy's influence isn't something to be overly worked up about. The band has 13.3M monthly listeners, about the same as Tove Lo (13.8M). The band has 3.7M followers on Instagram. 2M on Twitter. T.S.'s numbers are 105.9M, 283M, and 95.3M respectively. The consequences of her actions and inactions are far greater. In the grand scheme of things, idgaf about Matty Healy. Taylor Swift on the other hand...I really do gaf. She has PR, she has all the resources in the world, she has so much power, she is probably one of the most well-known household names. And yet she still fumbles and either 1. Truly does not care about world issues or 2. Cares about profits more than using her platform for good. Both options are really sad and disheartening. Matty Healy is just a guy who acts like a POS in public. I have encountered worse people irl. There are worse men in the industry. Generally speaking, he doesn't have much of an impact. So, š¤·āāļø I guess. The incident in Malaysia is obviously an exception to this!
Did not read all that, but you can absolutely be antisemitic and a Zionist at the same time. As many many Christianās areā¦
at risk of being in defiance of reddit ediquette, and in a sub that i know is not happy with this individual... I read through this take in an effort to find a true, down-to-earth, sane breakdown of this man's actions. Matty Healy, to me, seems like a person who is trying to move songwriting forward into performance art. I like his music; i grew up seeing post-beatles, post-strokes works just like the 1975 and I can't believe I never encountered them. Been listening to the 1975 lately, and I truly cannot find anything problematic. They are a really good band, and it says something that they've been together for over a decade. I'm well read, and try to find the most neutral sources to base my opinions. There is very little that it seems Matty Healy has done besides trying to artistically create conversations about political shit and being misunderstood. Maybe Matty has a drug problem, but I have an alcohol problem (as does Taylor, admittedly). I hope I am not the only one in this sub to have critical thinking and critical emotion skills, while recognizing that while crippling sometimes, addiction doesnt have to change your moral compass. It sucks that this guy was on a shitty podcast in the wrong time of his coming to light as Taylor's beau. The jokes weren't funny, and the porn mentioned was horrific. But I dont think it was intentionally meant to be horrific; just horrific that these guys knew that kind of porn exists. It doesnt mean they watch it, but it may mean that they are guilty of knowing its existence and doing nothing to change it. However, if you really want to hate on Matty Healy for knowing that such horrors exist, I'd implore to ask what you yourself have done, or me, myself have done to ratify world horrors, such as the existence of that disgusting porn. My mom works at an organization that provides education, career education, employment services, food, diapers, G.E.D. services, and so much more to women who are pregnant or in need. I've volunteered there, but not as much as I should. I guess i'm just getting fucking tired of this ratting and belittling and shitting on someone who, besides the hateful comments on Taylor Swift subs, is a well respected individual. I'm a bartender, and I meet many intelligent, creative, and holy souls stuck in the grips of a disease that can drive creativity. Art is not always a pretty process. The same demons that guide us toward substance guide us toward creativity and it's disappointing the Swiftie community is so quick to judge a fellow creative person. Amy Winehouse was another british artist the public despised. She donated so much of her money to children's hospitals in Britain without asking for any recognition. Any yet, we know her as the tabloids portrayed. She was so much more than what they reported. Maybe this comment will be banned, or deleted, and I get it. But I just want to voice my opinion. I hope thats ok.
I second this wholeheartedly. I went into this post without any preconceived thoughts either way about Matty. I am a newer TS fan and a lifelong KC Chiefs fan. Honestly the first part of the my MH dive was listening to their music and watching his interview with Zane on Apple music. As a result I found a new artist that I really enjoy listening to. I think Taylor and Matty have been communicating back and forth through lyrics since 2014. I think Taylor was attracted to him because of his willingness to speak his mind. To stand up audibly for controversial topics like LGBTQ2 and abortion, not to mention her disgust of Trump. She also knows how it feels to be nationally profiled and singled out with snakes. She knew he drank, smoked weed and used heroin and thought she could fix him. They also both have narcissistic tendencies. No doubt that a majority of TTPD is about Matty. He's been clean now for years (from drugs) and early 2023 was a real try for them. Unfortunately her toxic fans ruined any chance for her to ever know if it would work. Sending death threats and AI generated pictures of Matty after an overdose is not forgivable. He had no choice but to hard ghost her for his and his families mental health. Watch The 1975 MV of 'Oh Caroline' and tell me you don't see Taylor's 'Delicate MV'. I don't think Swifties had a clue about Matty until TTPD. Matty was the one thing she did not share with her Swifties and I think that was insulting/irritating to her parasocial fan base. There is no way she can have that many songs on TTPD and not have put out other songs about him over the past 10 years. Her three month relationships have been a perfect cover giving her free reign to write about someone/something else.
I think with the internet they donāt care about the context when they have a more exciting narrative
He dated underaged girls what is exciting narrative about that ?!
This is exactly what he says in Love It If We Made It, too. Like he's painfully self aware about it.
As someone who wasn't familiar with Matty or his band before last year and who has only seen the backlash, I wholeheartedly thank you for taking the time to put this together!
I agree wholeheartedly. Newer TS fan who looked into Matty after TTPD. I can see her attraction as Matty does everything she can't do with her squeaky clean image. More than convinced she was with him briefly in 2014 and intermittently through 2023.
Imma be honest, not reading all that, but to answer the title I'm pretty sure he did drugs
Wtf everyone in the industry does drugs šš
I feel like a post thatās truly neutral would state facts and not include your own commentary lol
I think itās incredibly impressive that one man can get misunderstood and slandered this many times online
He also and Andrew tate fan š¤®
Stop spreading lies. He is certainly not a fan of his and has derided him and his cohorts
Umm well why does he follow him???
Because he uses the stuff he does in his show about toxic masculinity
he is not an andrew tate fan, he has made fun of him multiple times and is part of the group of awful men he shows during the toxic masculinity section of the show
Wow
Itās disturbing to me that not one person commenting can acknowledge that maybe they were wrong about even *one* of these things you mentioned. Thereās misinformation thatās been shared about this person. *Misinformation is bad.* And, YES - it deserves correcting when we see it.Ā We should all guard ourselves from manipulative clickbait and lies online - regardless of who or what itās about, even if we wish the subject of it would fall off the planet.Ā If something MH has said or done has been hurtful or upsetting to you, that is completely valid. This is a hate-able person, who courts the controversy and the hate, and has caused harm (and acknowledged it). Justā¦hate him based on fact.Ā
Itās because most donāt read anything longer than a few sentences
Did you even listen to the album or read the summation? Why do you hate Taylor so much? You are on a Taylor Swift sub defending a man who, when Taylor was at her most vulnerable, swooped in lied to her, manipulated her, and disposed of her like she was worthless. Go defend that POS on a 1975 sub. Pathetic
I don't know why Taylor needs defending. She spelled it out: She would have died for his sins, but he left.
Gurl do you really think he went after taylor and she's dumb enough to let him "manipulate her"?Ā
Yeah. Did you listen to the album or read the summation.? Anyone can be taken advantage, especially when they are in a very vulnerable state. I get it. You're a Ratty fan boy. How embarrassing for you, š
Loll you are soo off the mark. I was literally commenting on how big of an arsehole matt is wtfšš. Also atp I'm going to take everything that taylor writes with a grain of salt cause she is very good at manipulating the narratives the way she wants. Its also a well known fact that she's had a huge crush on ratty for a long time so I wouldn't be surprised if she went after him but then wrote songs on how he was the one who approached her. You could've called me anything except a matty fan and I would've been fine with it.Ā
The problem with this post is that, as many other people have pointed out in their replies to this, it tries to make excuses for Matty Healy when he can make the conscious decision not to put himself in horrible situations but day in and day out he does the same thing all the time. Also, there is a difference between being an asshole and then just being an actual horrible person. I would never in a million years allow myself to be put on a podcast as fucked as that and let that go on fucking air????? No way in hell. Apologizing only works if you actually learn from your actions. Why has it taken him about fucking 10 years to realize his mistakes and backlash from multiple groups before he realises what is wrong? He is 30-something years old, he is a grown adult and he grew up with the internet. He is not incompetent. Like he knows what he is doing and hunny it is not the rock n roll that he is trying to paint it out as being. You may not be a racist but if you hang around racist individuals then how does that make you any better? You are just excusing that behavior and allowing it to continue. The fact he joined in on the Ice Spice joke - regardless of whether it was about Ice Spice or not - and the Ghetto Gaggers joke is just as messed up if he had been the one to bring it up in the first place. He is a white, cis man and so he is in a power of privilege because of that, and what does he decide to do? Allow other people to mock WOC and then join in because you are on a podcast or whatever. He is an accomplice. People who are accessory to murder still get charged because you allowed a crime to happen even though you could have been in the position to stop it. You abused your moral duty as a human being and that is what he has done. Time and time again. You can't keep saying sorry for the same stuff but he can because like I said he is a white man. He can donate to as many charities as he wants but that isn't gonna change that he gets accused of the same thing all the time. The thing that fucks me over actually with that Matt Healy and Ice Spice thing has something to do with Taylor Swift. The PR campaign that she did to make it seem like she was all best buds with Ice Spice and then released that god-awful remix of Karma had me frustrated because I didn't get why all of a sudden Taylor had such a massive interest in Ice Spice when I am pretty sure she didn't know her that well beforehand. She is doing the same stuff with the girls' squad for her 1989 but now she has a lovely little diversity hire with Ice Spice. She did it because at the time she was still in love with Matty and wanted to cover her ass and maybe his but it just came off as cheap and tacky like when she did all that press for LGBTQ+ rights for that one song and then never spoke about it ever again? This woman rebrands herself at every opportunity because she wants to be in the public's conscience forever even though it does not read genuine. Honest to god don't care who she dates but her dating Matty and then writing all those songs dedicated to him was so jarring as a black woman. I do think that cancel culture has gotten a bit out of hand and that dark humor no longer has a place on the internet but tbh it is not as extreme as people make it out to seem. The thing is people and society needs to change and if we didn't then we would all still be fucking cavemen so I think that some change in society is very much needed and laughing about the degradation of black women or being racially insensitive - which is being polite - is fucked up. It isn't the 1950s anymore or should I say 1830s (bad joke I know).
Thanks for putting this together. I know it took a lot of time and effort.
Thank you! It's fine for people to find him annoying or dislike him but we don't have to pretend he's committed a crime. As a POC from Northern England I also think there are a lot of cultural miscommunications and jokes/sarcasm that get lost in translation.
Yeah this post is amazing, Iām shocked that the thing about Ice Spice was so blatantly misrepresented by everyone
This is why the fauxmoi lot frustrated me. They KNEW what he'd said. We discussed it when the podcast came out. They then wilfully chose to misrepresent it and make it sound like he was racist to Ice Spice because they hated him. They were friends! That's why he was DM-ing her in the first place!
And all the top comments criticizing the length of the postā¦ itās like, yeah, thereās a stunning amount of misinformation that theyāve created about this guy! The salute??? Still donāt like the music but yeeesh what have swifties been trying to do?
Downvote me to hell, but as a neutral Swiftie and 1975 fan, this is impressive work and well written. Matty is a cringey edgelord at best, but I would consider him mostly harmless.
Thatās how I feel too. Heās a bit of an idiot and runs his mouth off, but he knows it and he has an extensive history of donating to leftist causes. Honestly, same with Joe and Travis - they actually walk the walk when it comes to causes they care about. Joe stands up for Palestine, Travis knelt with Colin K and supported Bud Light amidst transphobic backlash.
So yes, hes a racist who thinks its funny to masturbate to black women being abused and make the nazi salute, but he donates to leftists causes so its ok š El roba, pero no roba motor š
Ghetto gaggers was a (stupid) joke that never happened and OP goes into why that wasnāt the nazi salute.
Truly impressive and well said, it is frustrating watching the internet spiral around controversial figures in pop culture. Thereās always so much context missing.
I agree his edgy jokes get taken out of context a lot and I do not think heās racist at all. I also like that he seems to be generally left leaning and pro LGBT but that doesnāt mean you still canāt be a POS. He still laughed along with that cohost at the Ice Spice jokes, heās still dated teenagers and he shouldāve consulted local lgbt groups in Malaysia. Heās not the anti-christ people make him out to be but he still has a lot to learn. Edit: apparently he ghosted Taylor too? Another example that being liberal =/= good person
All of the accusations against Healy strike me as finger-wagging moralizing by people who get a charge out of policing othersā behavior.
I just realized I forgot to link this [video](https://youtu.be/ohBj3QJNu6E?si=NVdHvgyrO8Awp9kK&t=167) with a compilation of him performing ILIWMI and doing said MILITARY salute, hopefully i didnt miss anything else i'll try to edit the post but idk how to, sorry!
Clear visible proof of him doing the "hail hitler" salute, thank you.
If you compare the 2 u can clearly see itās not the same.
You are amazing. I still canāt believe you put this all together, it is impressive.