Call 9-1-1: Luke Hemmings Took Out His Lip Ring

A moment of silence, please: Luke Hemmings took out his lip ring and the 5 Seconds of Summer fandom is collectively having a meltdown over the I swear to God this better be temporary loss. Hemmings, who pierced his lip in 2013 and is rarely seen without the trademark black hoop in the corner of his mouth, popped up in a fan selfie sans lip ring on Wednesday night, only adding fuel to that "LUKE WHERE IS YOUR LIP RING" fire on Thursday when he posted a photo of himself at Universal Studios not rocking his typical facial piercing. For fans, aware that Hemmings' lip ring is a crucial part of his image and is the fandom's life blood, seeing pictures of the singer-guitarist without his facial piercing is a slap in the lip ring-less face.

While the knee-jerk reaction from the majority of the fan base is to immediately dissolve into panic mode, let's keep in mind that though Hemmings-sans-lip ring is a rare sight, it's one that we've seen before — and it did not mark the end of all days. (The time was April 2015, and you better believe that the piercing came back with a vengeance.) Plus, people randomly take out their piercings for all kinds of reasons — maybe he didn't feel like wearing it that day. Maybe it got infected. Maybe he's utilizing that break in between shows to its full potential. Who knows?

Still, the 5SOS fandom reaction is alive and real. After all: the lip ring is love; the lip ring is life. It's like half of Hemmings' personality, and it better be coming soon to a Sounds Live Feels Live show near me. Just sayin'.

Peep the full range of fans' responses below:

There Was Anger

There Was Name-Calling

There Was Confusion

There Were People Who Actually Preferred Him Without It

These people are wrong.

And, Of Course, There Were The Memes

The real test, of course, is when 5SOS resumes their Sounds Live Feels Live world tour in Europe in a week. Will the lip ring be center stage? One can only hope...