I think Weeknd is both a little bit shy and his reclusiveness was just a part of his image. In one of the few interviews he has given when …” asked if the air of mystery surrounding him was intentional, Tesfaye replied: ‘Yes and no. In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures. I just fucking hated this shit, like, crop me out of this picture right now. I was very camera shy.
People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls and it just became a trend. The whole ‘enigmatic artist’ thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit. But you can’t escape the Internet’.”