The Weeknd on Taylor Swift: ‘She was kind of, like, petting my hair’
The Weeknd has revealed that really memorable things can happen when one first meets Taylor Swift. At a post-GRAMMY party, the superstar felt the urge to fondle the pile of Basquiat-worthy locks piled on Toronto native Abel Tesfaye’s head – a defining feature second only to the R&B singer’s smooth voice. Rolling Stone went so far as to call it a “double mullet.”
And while the encounter between the “Shake It Off” singer and the "Can’t Feel My Face” artist may have seemed a bit odd, The Weeknd admitted that it "felt good.” According to the 25-year-old’s interview, Swift spent some 15 minutes petting his hair.
The first time Taylor Swift met The Weeknd things got weird. Photo: © Getty Images
“The whole time she was talking she was kind of, like, petting my hair? I think she was just drawn to it – she must have been a little gone off a few drinks,” he says. “And of course I’m not going to be like, ‘Hey, can you stop?’ I mean, it felt good! But when she started petting my hair, that’s when I was like, ‘I definitely need a drink.’"
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The meeting got mildly less awkward when conversation turned to her love of his music. “She actually schooled me on my own s***,” the singer says. “She was like, ‘I’ve been listening to “The Morning” for years – it’s one of my favourite songs ever!’ I mean, she might have just Googled it. But she seemed genuine.”
The Weeknd joined Taylor Swift on stage at a New Jersey show in July. Photo: © Getty Images
Fortunately, it seems, the Juno Award-winning artist and love interest of model Bella Hadid was able to shake off the moment. In the Rolling Stone piece he went on to detail his life as a Canadian artist and his rising status in Hollywood.
“I was always scared of being that guy where it’s like, ‘He could have been big. He could have been a star.’ I was afraid I’d see somebody else up there and be like, ‘You’re trying to tell me they’re better than me? Why? Because they’ve got a couple of smash records? I can do smashes. I could figure it out.’”
He adds: “And to be honest with you, it’s been, what, a couple of years now? And it feels great. I feel great.”
Sarah Kelsey is a gal in the know who regularly appears on television and writes for a variety of outlets. Check out her work at sarahkelsey.ca, on Twitter @sarahkelsey, Instagram @sakelsey and Pinterest @sakelsey.
