While Matty Healy made headlines in 2023 for his rumored romance and split from Taylor Swift, the 1975 lead singer is no stranger to getting fans’ attention with his controversial actions. He made a stir with a derogatory comment about rapper Ice Spice, which he later publicly apologized for but then seemingly doubled down on in an interview. The musician has also come under fire for being inappropriate with his fans at concerts and doing other outrageous acts on stage, such as eating raw meat.

MATTY’S PAST COMMENTS ABOUT DATING TAYLOR

Back in 2016, Matty referred to rumors that he previously dated Taylor as “emasculating.”

“She wasn’t a big impact on my life,” he told ​Q Magazine at the time. “It’s just interesting to me how interested the world is about Taylor Swift. The reason I mention that is because if I had [properly] 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 demasculinating [sic], emasculating thing.”

He later clarified his comments and stated that he never meant to throw “shade” at the “Delicate” singer.

“I have said on countless occasions that I found her to be one of the most gracious, hard working, creatively gifted, and beautiful women that I have had the pleasure to meet [sic],” he tweeted at the time, according to Elle. “I personally have a lot of respect and admiration for her. Why would I not?”’

Taylor and Matty sparked dating rumors again in early May 2023 when he was spotted at her Eras tour concert in Nashville. However, the rumored romance didn’t last long. They reportedly called it quits by June 2023, In Touch confirmed at the time.

“Taylor and Matt are no longer romantically involved,” a source told Us Weekly. “They had fun together, but it was never serious.”

Some fans speculated that Taylor’s 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was announced in February 2024 and set for release on April 19, 2024, included songs about her fling with Matty. However, Taylor has not commented on the inspirations for her songs.

KISSING FANS ON STAGE

During several The 1975 shows, Matty has brought fans on stage to make out. After receiving backlash from fans in November 2022, he stated on social media that he asks permission before kissing.

Matty has been kissing fans for years, and he even smooched a male fan in Dubai during a 2019 concert to make a point against United Arab Emirates laws.

“Thank you, Dubai, you were so amazing. I don’t think we’ll be allowed back due to my ‘behaviour’, but know that I love you and I wouldn’t have done anything differently given the chance again,” the “About You” singer tweeted at the time.

EATING RAW MEAT ON STAGE

Another questionable action Matty has done on stage is eat raw meat. While performing at Madison Square Garden in November 2022, Matty ate raw meat and touched himself while sitting on a couch on stage. “I’m sorry if you came with your dad and I was touching my d—k,” he told the crowd. “It’s your fault for bringing your dad.”

He once again ate a raw steak on stage during a January 2023 concert.

WEIGHING IN ON KANYE WEST’S ANTISEMITISM

Matty appeared to do a Nazi salute while marching on stage during a show in January 2023. “Thank you, Kanye, very cool,” he said around the time that Kanye West was under fire for making antisemitic remarks.

He made the comment while performing “Love it If We Made It,” which includes the lines, “‘I moved on her like a bitch,’ excited to be indicted / Unrequited house with seven pools, ‘Thank you, Kanye, very cool’ / The war has been incited, and guess what? You’re all invited / And you’re famous, modernity has failed us.” The lyrics seemingly take a dig at former president Donald Trump, who tweeted “Thank you, Kanye, very cool” back in 2018.

While Matty has never commented on the controversy, he slammed the “Gold Digger” rapper while appearing on the “Adam Friedland Show” in February 2023. “He’s obviously someone who is dealing with grief and has mental health issues, but that’s not an excuse to do, like, antisemitism,” he said.

ICE SPICE COMMENTS

One of Matty’s most recent controversies began when Ice Spice told Elle Magazine that she ​was ​​“obsessed” with The 1975 during an interview published in January 2023.

Later that month, Matty made derogatory comments about the rapper’s appearance while speaking to Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen when he visited “The Adam Friedland Show.”

“This chubby Chinese lady. ‘Yeah, I rap and [make] music.’ Do they talk like that? Do Inuits talk like that?” Adam and Nick joked. They went on to refer to the “Princess Diana” rapper as an “Inuit Spice Girl.”

Matty added, “Yeah, that’s what Ice Spice is like.”

The podcast episode has since been removed from Apple Music and Spotify, though circulated online when the “Chocolate” singer was romantically linked to Taylor in May 2023.

After the episode aired, Matty publicly apologized for making the comments during a concert in Auckland, New Zealand, in April 2023.

“I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you,” he told the crowd. “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 d–k. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry.”

He said that the comments were “a bit irresponsible” and told the crowd that he doesn’t “understand how famous [he is].”

“The truth is, I see a sign that says like, ‘Matty, I hope you’re okay.’ I feel a bit bad, to be honest,” Matty continued. “I don’t like being famous. But reality is reality. And 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.”

However, Matty seemingly doubled down on his comments a month later in an interview with The New Yorker, admitting that he was baiting fans “a little bit, but it doesn’t actually matter.”

“Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, ‘What’s wrong, darling?’ and they go, ‘It’s just this thing with Matty Healy.’ That doesn’t happen,” he said. “If it does, you’re either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar. You’re either lying that you are hurt, or you’re a bit mental for being hurt. It’s just people going, ‘Oh, there’s a bad thing over there, let me get as close to it as possible so you can see how good I am.’ And I kind of want them to do that, because they’re demonstrating something so base level.”

KISSING A SECURITY GUARD

Matty continued to shock fans when he kissed a male security guard during The 1975’s set at Denmark’s NorthSide Festival in June 2023. While holding a bottle of alcohol, Matty knelt down and asked the security guard, “Wanna kiss me?”

The security guard seemingly agreed before Matty planted his mouth on the security guard’s lips.