for some reason? I didn't download him with pigtails then he ends up with pigtails during the game? is this bad cc or something?

They show up sometimes if your CC hair is not made for all outfits. For reasons unknown, EA decided that the pigtails are some sort of default, even for males.

it's creepy lol

I really thought pigtails for men were a custom hair download. I guess I was wrong. I never saw this on any male sims as of yet! ahah.

No, the problem with this one we discovered when trying to disallow or gender-restrict the pigtails with EasyCASP Editor is that there are multiple versions of that and several other hairstyles in the various game files that came with several patches and EPs. EasyCASP only notices the first instance, so that effort proved to be useless. I've never seen the effect myself either, but so many other players have including those who have no CC.

It's not just males either. I've had those on toddlers but because the hair isn't made for them, it floats above them. It's very annoying. If it happens again, since you can't really force it to happen, I'll post a screenshot.