Last year, The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, alarmed fans by appearing at multiple events—the American Music Awards, the Video Music Awards, and Saturday Night Live>>>P, to name a few—with a bloody, swollen, bandaged face. It looked like he’d been beaten or in sort sort of accident, and it got worse and more painful with each appearance.
First things first: It’s fake, so don’t worry! His bloodied and bandaged look, which he’s described as”a progression” while he plays”The Character,” has been a thing since March of 2020, and it’s a reference to both his single Blinding Lights and its parent album After Hours. You can expect him to continue wearing the stage makeup and bandages for as long as he’s promoting and accepting awards for that album—so, well into 2021—though it’s not clear whether he’s going to wear it to the family-friendly Super Bowl LV.
