The Weeknd kicked off his Halftime Show with “Starboy,” but it wasn’t until he segued into “Can’t Feel My Face” that the famous bandages came into view: On the faces of the dancers that surrounded him. What is the meaning behind The Weeknd’s bandages? Learn all about the symbolism behind the “Starboy” singer’s style.
When did The Weeknd hurt his face or get surgery?
The Weeknd never actually hurt his face or got any work done (well, that we know of). The singer’s bandaged face can be traced back to his “Blinding Lights” music video that dropped in January 2020. The video, his second for After Hours after “Heartless,” featured him stumbling and driving around Las Vegas and taking quite a few punches to the face. His handsome mug was bloodied in the video’s start and finish. Soon after the “Blinding Lights” video’s release, The Weeknd performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he wore a bandage on his nose along with faux blood elsewhere on his face. He did the same on Saturday Night Live in March 2020. He didn’t stick with this exact look all the time, opting to show his face with makeup to appear bruised and bloody for the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2020.
When did The Weeknd first wear bandages in public?
Aside from his small nose bandages, The Weeknd first rocked full-face bandages in November 2020 at the American Music Awards. He also had darkened, reddened under-eyes, similar to the look one would get after facial surgery.
What happened to The Weeknd’s face in 2020?
When The Weeknd emerged without bandages in his “Save Your Tears” music video, people freaked out at what appeared to be a surgically “enhanced” face on the singer. He sported extremely puffed cheekbones, inflated lips, a new nose and even different eyebrows. Thankfully, the Jocelyn Wildenstein-inspired style was just the work of prosthetics for his music video: The “Can’t Feel My Face” singer’s actual face is unaltered and lovely as ever under all of that special effects makeup.
Why did The Weeknd wear bandages?
Shortly before his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, The Weeknd revealed that the meaning behind his bandages was mostly just a commentary on the shallow, hollow nature of fame. “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 Variety. He explained that the bandages were part of his character for the After Hours visuals (simply named “The Character”), noting, “It’s all a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on.” And in case you thought he was insecure about his appearance, you’d be wrong. “I suppose you could take that being attractive isn’t important to me,” he said, “but a compelling narrative is.” Next, find out how much The Weeknd is worth!
