Lorde blasts AI glasses as 'not sexy' onstage

Pop star Lorde used her set at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid last week to take aim at AI glasses, delivering a blunt critique of a product category already under scrutiny from privacy advocates.

“Increasingly in our world, it gets harder and harder to know what is real. You don’t know if someone is wearing sunglasses, or if they’re wearing those f—ed up, f—ing [AI glasses]. Can I just say, for the record, f— the glasses. Don’t get the glasses. Not sexy.”

The timing was pointed. Ray-Ban sponsored the festival, and the brand partners with Meta on its smart glasses. Lorde also performed immediately before Jennie, who is an ambassador for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses line.

Lorde’s criticism lands in the middle of a broader backlash against smart glasses with built-in cameras and AI features. Security experts have repeatedly warned that the devices can create serious privacy risks, and the products have been used in cases involving harassment and extortion.

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Meta, the leading smart glasses maker, has said it takes privacy seriously and includes safeguards such as a visible recording light. Even so, the company is facing multiple investigations and lawsuits over alleged privacy violations. One lawsuit claims that Kenyan contract workers were required to watch graphic videos captured with the glasses to help train Meta’s AI. The company has not publicly detailed its response to that specific allegation.

Ray-Ban Meta sales keep rising

Despite the criticism, demand has remained strong. EssilorLuxottica, which makes Ray-Ban, said it sold more than 7 million Meta AI glasses in 2025. That is more than triple the roughly 2 million units sold across 2023 and 2024 combined.

The success of Ray-Ban Meta glasses has helped Meta push further into the smart glasses category with an expanding lineup. But Lorde’s onstage verdict cuts through the product pitch in a different way: if privacy concerns are not enough to slow buyers down, social stigma might be.