smart glasses They are, without a doubt, more popular than ever. Meta has only sold million pairsand even Apple is reportedly interested in the category, with Google and Samsung waiting in the wings. But for every step that smart glasses take towards mainstreaming, there are just as many people taking a step (or several) back, and some of those people are real celebrities.
here it is Lorde talking a lot of shit during a recent performance about said smart glasses:
Lorde saying fuck meta glasses at a festival sponsored by Rayban meta AI glasses, how can you not love her? pic.twitter.com/HWsHZHP9AE
– anna ✿ (@livinings) July 10, 2026
“Can I just say, for the record, screw your glasses?” Lorde said onstage after lamenting the fact that it’s hard to tell when someone is wearing regular glasses or smart glasses with a camera.
The sentiment isn’t particularly novel (many people are opposed to the idea of smart glasses), but we’ve rarely seen this level of reaction in a setting that is not overtly political or backed by an advocacy group. The comments also feel especially pointed given the fact that we just saw Kylie Jenner, arguably the biggest celebrity smart glasses signer, help design a version of Meta’s smart glasses called Starfire Kylie Edition. Those glasses have been the center of a major advertising campaign involving Jenner, which has helped cement Meta’s smart glasses on an even more generalized level.
Lorde isn’t the only one in the celebrity world to reject smart glasses. Tyler the Creator recently criticized Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses on Instagram, writing: “Anyone who wears these glasses is a real weirdo,” linking to a Wired article about smart glasses and surveillance.
What’s most interesting about the celebrity backlash against smart glasses is the potential implications. Back in 2013, when Google tried, and failed, to force Google Glass onto the scene, the proverbial nail in the coffin wasn’t regulation, policy, or anything remotely official; It was social perception. People didn’t buy Google Glass largely because they didn’t want to be perceived as a “glass hole.” And in terms of influencing public opinion, celebrities are much more likely to move the needle than, say, the New York court system.
The question is: which position will prevail? Kylie’s or Lorde’s?
