Via YouTube NFL video screenshot
The Weekend headlined the 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show, and many people were perplexed by the dancers wearing face bandages so they shared memes and jokes.
The Weeknd, ft. the Cosmetic Surgery Singers?
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) February 8, 2021
I really like The Weekend but I’m gonna have nightmares about this!!#SuperBowl #TheWeeknd pic.twitter.com/ZeAJWxZKY7
— AmplitudeUSA (@AmplitudeUSA) February 8, 2021
The Weeknd, ft. the Cosmetic Surgery Singers?
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) February 8, 2021
Appreciate this daring homage to football’s CTE issue.
— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) February 8, 2021
The Weeknd loves Darkman!! pic.twitter.com/pbkVHGCHf3
— Krister Johnson (@KristerJohnson) February 8, 2021
The Weekend must be a big fan of Watchmen. #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/TbK3hvJHvi
— JTE (@JTEmoviethinks) February 8, 2021
Nobody:
The Weeknd’s background dancers: pic.twitter.com/QV9GoPc3OG
— Pennywise🎈 (@_xlrv_) February 8, 2021
All I saw from the Weekend’s Halftime show #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/nVKuOhlrN8
— Nerdy Senpai ❄️ (@Nerdy_Senpai0) February 8, 2021
WOW❗ LOVED THE FITS FOR THE WEEKEND’S HALFTIME PERFORMANCE 😳🤭 #TheWeeknd #HalfTimeShow pic.twitter.com/WyPmksph64
— SCARAMOUCHE ON THE MIND (@genkyojin) February 8, 2021
Nobody:
Absolutely no one:
All of the Weeknd’s dancers: pic.twitter.com/VSbrB552Rd
— it dave (@youjustgotdaved) February 8, 2021
“HI MOM! GUESS WHAT?! I MADE IT! I’M ONE OF THE DANCERS THAT’LL BE RIGHT NEXT TO ‘THE WEEKEND’ DURING THE SUPERBOWL HALFTIME SHOW!”
— Adam Baldwin (@AdamBaldwin) February 8, 2021
The Weekend shocked much of the Super Bowl LV audience by having dozens of dancers dressed in red suits with bandages on their faces. Many Super Bowl viewers asked, “What’s up with the bandages?”
The explanation for the bandages go back to 2019 during The Weeknd’s promotion for his After Hours album when he started wearing a red jacket and bandages as a result of a crazy night in Las Vegas.
“This character is having a really bad night, and you can come with your own interpretation of what it is,” the Weeknd told Variety in April 2020. “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.”
“I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home,” the pop star said prior to his Super Bowl Halftime performance. “I will still incorporate some of the storyline [from the videos—it’s a very cohesive story I’m telling throughout this year, so the story will continue, but we definitely will keep it PG for the families. I’ll do my best.”
On Sunday, the “Can’t Feel My Face” singer did not have a bandage on his own head, but his squadron of backup dancers did.
🤩 The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show performance 🤩
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/gcsIfZ2trO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 8, 2021
📸: The Weeknd performs during the halftime show at Super Bowl LV in Tampa. https://t.co/ZHlXNS6syF #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/U78DoXNFWc
— ABC News (@ABC) February 8, 2021
here, guys.
“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.” https://t.co/HWcZtZLZ06
— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) February 8, 2021
The three-time Grammy Award winner put on quite the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but not everyone was impressed.
Where’s Shakira?
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) February 8, 2021
Why is The Weekend singing with Tuscan Raiders? #PepsiHalftime #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/3n3WGyZqza
— Coley DeCat (@ColeyDecat) February 8, 2021
someone wearing red finally made the end zone tonight 😅 pic.twitter.com/KND9TPdDSB
— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 8, 2021
But seemingly everyone on Twitter had the same exact dad joke about the “Blinding Lights” crooner.
For the first time in I’m life…I’m gonna say I’m glad the weekend is over #HalfTimeShow #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/iKPInrd5rh
— Jeff Verszyla (@Verz) February 8, 2021
Well, the weekend is officially over. #SuperBowl
(Continue to follow me for more dad jokes)
— Zack Hunt (@ZaackHunt) February 8, 2021
The Weeknd is over. Haha
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) February 8, 2021
That #HalfTimeShow got me excited for Monday so that The Weekend can be over. #SuperBowl
— Rio (@RivalRio) February 8, 2021
The Weeknd is almost over. Thank god.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 8, 2021
weeknd’s over. everybody back to work
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 8, 2021
Well, that was….well….maybe Monday will be better than the weekend. #HalfTimeShow #SuperBowl
— Mario J. Radford (@mariojradford) February 8, 2021
RELATED: The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Made Viewers Dizzy With Constantly Moving Camera