Report: The Weeknd’s new video won’t air in IMAX theaters due to “intense strobe lighting”

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The Weeknd will release his eagerly anticipated new song “Take My Breath” on Friday, but the video for the clip won’t premiere in IMAX theaters as originally planned.

A source tells Variety that the video was set to air before showings of the new movie The Suicide Squad, but those plans have been cancelled because there is “intense strobe lighting” in the clip, and that might trigger epileptic seizures in some viewers.

The Weeknd announced the track on Instagram as part of an Olympics promo focusing on the U.S. Women’s Track & Field team through the eyes of runners Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Gabby Thomas and Athing Mu

There are several shots on The Weeknd’s Instagram that appear to be stills taken from the video.  In one shot, he appears to be holding onto the waist of a woman wearing black leather and chains, while inhaling from an oxygen mask.

The singer recently told GQ, “I am not dark. My art is dark, and I’ve gone through dark times. I’ve used those dark times as inspiration for my art. But I feel like because I’m not dark, I was able to channel it and put it into my music and into my art.”

 

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