Video of the Year winner, The Weeknd, left his fans worried after his performance at the 2020 MTV VMAs where he seemed to have a bloody face.
The singer was performing “Blinding Lights” at the shows opening on the roof of Edge NYC in New York. He won the Video of the Year award for the visuals to “Blinding Lights”, the song also became the subject of a viral TikTok dance challenge.
While hundreds of fans praised the performance itself, earlier some VMAs viewers had been confused by The Weeknd’s appearance.
A promotional picture showed him with a bloodied nose, cut lip and black eyes.
“Why does the weeknd look like he’s been punched in the face??? can someone explain?” one viewer tweeted.
“What the hell happened to The Weeknd’s face?” another wrote.
For those who weren’t aware, The Weeknd’s appearance is the result of makeup, which he first used for the visuals accompanying his latest album, After Hours.
In the official, now-award-winning video for “Blinding Lights”, he appears bruised and bloodied while staggering around a virtually empty Las Vegas.
Also at the virtual MTV VMAs, Lady Gaga took home five awards, including Best Song, Artist of the Year, and Best Collaboration.
The Weeknd used his award acceptance speech to highlight police brutality against black people in the US, commenting: “It’s really hard for me to celebrate right now and enjoy this moment, so, I’m just going to say, justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor.”
*Article first appeared in Independent
