UNLESS you’ve been busier than your average honey bee this week or you just haven’t been anywhere near social media, you’ll probably be aware of the controversy surrounding The 1975’s Matt Healy and some quotes from his Q Magazine interview.
The band scored the cover of this month’s Q - and deservedly so, what with the amazing success they’ve had with their latest album.
However, the really problematic part of the interview didn’t come from any discussions about their music. Instead, the part that actually gained criticism was Matt’s chat about his love life, and his ‘flirtation’ with Taylor Swift in particular.
Matt admitted he was ‘interested in how interested the world is about Taylor’ and, in the most problematic quotes of the lot, said: “And the reason I mention that is because if I had gone out with Taylor Swift I would’ve been, ‘F**king hell! I am NOT being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.’ You know, ‘F**K. THAT.’ That’s also a man thing, a de-masculinating, emasculating thing.”
Yep, the quotes were totally NOT cool and what he was implying (or seemed to be implying, anyway) was offensive.
However, with the quotes having caused uproar across social media, Matt has now taken to his own Twitter to try and explain the whole thing, claiming his words were ‘taken out of context’ and denying being a ‘misogynist’.
Explaining what he said ‘for the sake of truth and clarity’, he wrote: “A. We never dated and B. When speculation suggested we were dating I was for a very short time immersed in a celebrity world that I found confusing and scary. At that time I had fears of being ‘somebody’s boyfriend’ (remember this is all speculation as we never dated!) before even being recognised for my music or presence as a person in my own right.”
Speaking more about his ‘irrational fears’, Matt said that he prides himself on being honest, explaining: “I am telling you from experience, it’s an all consuming whirlwind and something that for me elicited a lot of self-exploration.”
Matt added that he’s said ‘on countless occasions’ that he believes Taylor to be “one of the most gracious, hard working, creatively gifted, and beautiful women” he’s ever met, and that he has “a lot of respect and admiration” for her.
He ended his statement by criticising ‘whoever lifted that quote first’, before thanking the fans who have stood up for him.
