The Weeknd Finally Reveals the Story Behind the Full-Face Bandages He’s Been Wearing for Months

For the last few months, The Weeknd’s appearance has been puzzling many people. The singer has been wearing a full-face bandage in photos and while performing songs off his After Hours album. Though no one really knew the backstory behind the mysterious medical-inspired getup, the singer recently revealed the reason for his bandaged and bruised face, which according to him, was all for his art.

The Weeknd debuted his fully bandaged face in November 2020

Last year, The Weeknd shocked and confused many people when he showcased a surprising look at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards: a red blazer, black leather gloves, and, most notably, his face completely covered in blood and artificial bruising.

While the singer continued rocking this look at A-list events and in his music videos for songs “Heartless,” “In Your Eyes,” “Blinding Lights,” “Too Late,” and “Save Your Tears,” he took things up a notch in November 2020 when he wore a fully bandaged face to that year’s American Music Awards.

At first, many thought that The Weeknd (whose real name is Abel Tesfaye) had gotten into a fight or was in the process of surgically changing something about himself.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

In August 2020, The Weeknd told Esquire that the bruised and bandaged look is actually part of his album’s aesthetic — specifically for the song “Blinding Lights.”

“‘Blinding Lights’ [is about] how you want to see someone at night, and you’re intoxicated, and you’re driving to this person and you’re just blinded by streetlights,” he told the outlet about the song. “But nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you’re so lonely. I don’t want to ever promote drunk driving, but that’s what the dark undertone is.”

The Weeknd finally explained why his face has been covered in bandages

Though The Weeknd admitted that his changing face is part of his current-era aesthetic, he recently explained the story behind his bandaged appearance.

During a recent interview with Variety, the “Can’t Feel My Face” crooner revealed that his medical-inspired look is a commentary on celebrity culture.

“The significance of the entire head bandages is reflecting on the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated,” he told the outlet.

The singer says that the look is meant to display “a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on.”

He added, “I suppose you could take that being attractive isn’t important to me but a compelling narrative is.”

Is The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ character here to stay?

Seeing as he’s been walking around with bandages on his face for months, we can’t help but wonder if The Weeknd will continue to appear as this new character.

Though the singer says he enjoys experimenting with new storylines, he didn’t give a straight answer as to whether his bruised and bandaged persona is here to stay.

“Why not play with the character and the artist and let those lines blur and move around?” he told Variety.

But even if the beaten-up look is permanent, we have a feeling that he will even more over the top with his appearance, despite it being a bit worrisome.