We don’t know what did it. Maybe it was one too many effects-makeup blows to his prosthetic face, but the Weeknd is changing his ways. In a GQ profile, the artist born Abel Tesfaye confirmed that he is now indeed “sober lite,†meaning he has sworn off hard drugs. The Weeknd confirms that he still drinks occasionally, and smokes weed, but as for other drugs, like the coke evoked in “Can’t Feel My Face,†he’s done. “No. Drugs were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it,†he says. “And I’ve spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don’t need it. Because for a lot of people, it’s hard to shake it. But I knew I didn’t want it.â€
In the interview, the artist also compares his Weeknd persona to Venom, saying, “I think Abel would love to depart and divide himself from The Weeknd. It’s like the Venom thing, man.†And that same morning, as if he said “Beetlejuice†three times, a new Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer dropped. That’s sober-lite Abel’s power.