Fumbling your fave in a Persona game is a rite of passage. (For many, at least; they don’t let you be gay in those games, so I’m not even trying.) Now pop artist Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye has learned firsthand what it’s like to miss out on a baddie as he documents his failed attempt to woo Tae Takemi, the goth doctor in Persona 5.
Tesfaye has been playing Persona 5 Royal and posting about it on his Instagram alt account @gene.hackerman (thanks, Polygon), and fans of Atlus’ social sim RPGs have been tuning in like it’s their daytime soap opera. However, disaster struck when he realized that he missed the opportunity to enter a romance with Takemi, and thus had to play out the friendship route.
The Weeknd posts about not romancing Takemi in Persona 5 Royal via his alt account, gene.hackerman IG story. This comes after multiple comments from Persona fans on the fact that he didn’t romance her pic.twitter.com/BJPFHbf44j
— 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙸 𝚇𝙾💀 (@MementoMoriXO) April 29, 2026
As is on brand, Tesfaye hasn’t really been doing a lot of commentary while posting about his Persona 5 playthrough, and is mostly just posting images that any P5 fan would recognize to track his progress. When he realized he messed up the Takemi romance, he merely posted a screenshot of what looks like Google AI results telling him he had to begin the romance in her ninth Confidant conversation, and he failed to do that. So here we are. It’s giving “cryptic AIM away message.” It’s the biggest fumble of Persona’s 30th anniversary, as fans had taken notice of the “Blinding Lights” singer’s infatuation weeks ago.
— Queazy (@itsqueazy) April 16, 2026
So now, the Weeknd is maidenless as he goes on to change the hearts of more villains alongside the Phantom Thieves. Hopefully someone lets him know about the requirements to unlock Persona 5 Royal’s new ending, because it would be even more of a bummer if he missed out on that.
