Disturbed Singer's Mom Cried When She First Saw His Labret Piercings | Revolver

Disturbed Singer's Mom Cried When She First Saw His Labret Piercings

David Draiman's iconic fashion statement didn't sit well with his traditional Jewish mother
David Draiman Disturbed Getty , Mick Hutson / Redferns
Disturbed's David Draiman
photograph by Mick Hutson / Redferns

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For years, Disturbed singer David Draiman was hard to miss. The heavy-metal star had a very unique pair of piercings on his labret (the area right under his lower lip) that he always wore with gigantic, spikey crescent hoops that wrapped down around the base of his chin. Until he got them removed in 2018 for feeling "like a 45-year-old Hot Topic kid," they were his signature look, but apparently they made his mother burst into tears the first time she laid eyes on them.

When we recently talked to Draiman about his whole life story, he told us that he got the double labret piercing as soon as he knew Disturbed had a record deal locked in, as a way of celebrating his new freedom to wave his freak flag high as a soon-to-be rockstar. "I just wanted to do something that was original that nobody else had," he said of his piercing choice.

However, his parents were not fond of their son's new look. Throughout the interview, Draiman described his parents as very conservative, traditional Jewish folks who weren't down with the eccentric fashion and heavy stylings of Draiman's new career path. Once he finally showed them what he had done with his face as a newly-minted professional musician, his mother wept.

"It took them a while before they saw it," Draiman said. "And my mom cried. They were not happy."