Why The Weeknd Is In Hot Water Over Ukraine
The Weeknd gets his share of headlines and controversies. The Weeknd's success breaking records is legendary. In 2017, the singer made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016 after "Beauty Behind the Madness" broke a record by becoming the most-streamed song on Spotify. The Weeknd got a big backlash in 2019 for some controversial lyrics in "Lost In The Fire," a collaboration with Gesaffelstein. The superstar singer made headlines and broke Twitter when he showed up at the 2020 AMAs with his face covered in bandages. Fans freaked out that the 31-year-old was recovering from plastic surgery ... but it turned out "The Hills" crooner was kidding.
The Weeknd was then involved in a huge controversy over the 2021 Grammy Awards. After the Canadian singer performed at the 2021 Super Bowl and had the top song of 2020, the Grammys showed him no love, ignoring him completely. The Weeknd appeared to be done with the Grammys, telling The New York Times that he blamed his awards snub on the Recording Academy's "secret committees." The Canadian singer tweeted: "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans, and the industry transparency...." But now the singer is in hot water over a comment about Ukraine. From the Grammys to international politics, what has The Weeknd done now?
The Weeknd tweeted at the wrong time
The Weeknd tweeted at the wrong time, on an epic scale. The Weeknd tweeted his excitement about an announcement just as Russia attacked Ukraine. On the night of February 23, The Weeknd tweeted: "LET'S GOOOOOOOO," just as news broke about the Russian invasion. People quickly slid into the star's replies. One Twitter user replied: "Top 5 worst tweets ever based on timing alone." Another fan tweeted: "Bro tweeted this while WW3 going on." One sympathetic fan tweeted: "horrible timing, my guy."
Earlier in the day, the singer teased a big announcement. "it's FINALLY HERE !" he tweeted. "It's time .. TOMORROW !!!" Two hours (and thousands of comments) after The Weeknd's original message, the superstar tweeted: "unfortunately i'm just now seeing what's happening with the conflict and will pause on tomorrow's announcement. i pray for everyone's safety." The Weeknd tweeted a similar message just before his "After Hours" album dropped in 2020.