The Weeknd is known to be philanthropic. Last summer he donated $1 million to pandemic relief, half of which went to his hometown of Scarborough and the other to MusiCares. Nearly a year later, the After Hours singer has lent another million, this time towards relief efforts in Ethiopia, the birth country of his parents.
In a statement to his social media pages, wrote, “My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction.” The singer added that the donation would provide “2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Programme and encourage those who can to please give as well.” The conflict in the East African country stems from tensions between the government in Addis Abada and the Tigray region.
The donation comes after The Weeknd hosted an NFT auction to sell an unreleased song. Prior to that he dropped a video for his 2018 track “Try Me” to celebrate the three-year anniversary of his My Dear Melancholy. Earlier this year, he also announced a boycott of the Grammys, citing their use of what he called “secret committees.” His decision prompted the awards body to announce they were trying to “improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees.”
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