The 1975's Matt Healy deactivates Twitter after he is accused of using George Floyd's death to promote his song
The popular and polarizing pop rock band The 1975 have had their fair share of fans and critics since they first formed at the turn of the millennium. While the talented British group is often viewed as the voice of the new generation and rightly lauded for their quotable takes on numerous socio-political issues, they somehow keep managing to mire themselves in one controversy after the other. Their frontman Matt Healy has received some flak for his outspoken, non-PC nature in particular, which seems to have rubbed quite a few people the wrong way over the years. And things came to a head on May 28, after Healy was genuinely trying to lend support to the Black Lives Matter movement, but ended up offending a lot of people instead. He subsequently deleted his Twitter account after receiving a torrent of backlash.
Here's how it all went down. Healy had originally been shouting out the ghastly death of George Floyd that made headlines all around the globe this week. In another sickening case of police brutality, the 46-year-old black man and former Houston rapper was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis on Monday night, May 25 in what appeared to be a case of intentional asphyxiation. As seen in camera footage captured by onlookers, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the unarmed and handcuffed George Floyd's neck for nearly seven minutes as he lay face down on the ground. Even though Floyd complained that he was unable to breathe, he was not granted any respite, and subsequently lost consciousness. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital, prompting public outrage and shockwaves that rippled throughout the community and country.