Abel “the Weeknd” to which Tesfaye responded Rolling stone‘s report claims his extremely anticipated HBO present, The idol, “is wildly, disgustingly derailed.” However the celebrity did not refute a few of the article’s disturbing claims — resembling that he and co-creator, Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson, are making a collection depicting “sexual torture porn” – however as an alternative fired off a video calling the publication uncool. Whereas sources inform Yahoo Leisure that a few of the content material within the RS story is “fairly correct”, others paint a unique image of what goes on behind the scenes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tesfaye tweeted a fraction of The idol of his and Lily-Rose calling Depp’s characters RS “irrelevant.” Within the collection, the singer performs a modern-day cult chief named Tedros, whereas Depp is Jocelyn, his pop star love curiosity. The clip reveals them speaking to a kind of cop (performed by Dan Levy) who tries to persuade Jocelyn to do a canopy for the journal.
“I really feel prefer it may be a bit previous its peak,” says Jocelyn.
“Yeah, no one cares Rolling stone‘ provides Tedros.
Tesfaye, who has greater than 17 million followers on Twitter RS and wrote, “Did we upset you?”
Depp shared the identical video on her Instagram account.
So, what precisely confused the actors? Let’s unpack all of the drama surrounding it The idol.
Rolling stone claims The idol is in turmoil – and the content material is disturbing
on Wednesday morning, RS posted his story”The idol: How HBO’s Subsequent Euphoria Turned Twisted ‘Torture Porn.'” The article featured interviews with 13 members of the present’s forged and crew, all of whom remained nameless. They spoke of the alleged havoc that has ensued since Levinson took over from director Amy Seimetz throughout a shake-up final spring.
“It was, let’s say, a present,” one individual claimed.
Whereas the article describes how the manufacturing was plagued with reshoots and rewrites, inflicting severe delays, the troubling allegations relate to the shift in content material.
4 sources claimed that Levinson created a humiliating love story that a number of crew members discovered offensive. Seimetz’s model was extra about “a troubled starlet who falls sufferer to a predatory trade determine and fights to reclaim her personal company”. Now, one manufacturing member claimed, “It was like all rape fantasy any poisonous man would have on the present — after which the lady comes again for extra as a result of it makes her music higher.”
Here is one of many extra regarding excerpts from the story:
At a number of factors, Levinson’s scripts contained disturbing sexual and bodily violent scenes between Depp’s and Tesfaye’s characters, three sources accustomed to the matter declare. In an idea episode, there was reportedly a scene the place Tesfaye punches Depp’s face, and her character smiles and asks to be spanked extra, giving Tesfaye an erection. (This scene was by no means shot, the supply says.) One other proposed state of affairs was that Depp could be carrying an egg in her vagina and if she dropped or broke the egg, Tesfaye’s character would refuse to “rape” her – inflicting the character of Depp spiraled and begged him to “rape” her as a result of she believed him to be the important thing to her success. (This scene was additionally not filmed as a result of the manufacturing could not discover a approach to realistically movie the scene with out Depp bodily inserting the egg, one other supply explains.)
Sure, The idol was “fairly chaotic”
A supply with data of manufacturing points over the previous two years admits to Yahoo that the set was “fairly chaotic” at instances, leaving some forged and crew members “more and more annoyed.” Yahoo spoke to 2 individuals who have the RS article “fairly correct” with emphasis on, “Yeah, it has been a s***present typically.”
Nonetheless, a community supply counters, telling Yahoo that whereas a few of what has been written for the present “pushes boundaries”, it’s “unfair” to categorize the present as “sexual torture porn”.
“Certain, it makes an excellent headline, however there is no approach all these 13 ‘sources’ have seen a completed product,” the insider explains.
This is not the primary time Levinson has confronted criticism
Final 12 months, in the course of EuphoriaIn Levinson’s massively profitable second season, Levinson turned the topic of criticism, as critics claimed the present featured an excessive amount of pointless teen nudity. Days on set had been reportedly lengthy and exhausting. It took two years for viewers to get a second season, because the route of the season appeared to alter rather a lot in actual time. Even Levinson has admitted that his “writing course of is fairly weird”.
Actress Barbie Ferreira, whose body-positive character Kat was an enormous a part of Euphoria‘s first season, reportedly “stormed” the set and Levinson in the reduction of on her display time after they disagreed over her Kat’s arc. Actress Sydney Sweeney advised a reporter she needed to in the reduction of some pointless shirtless scenes and visitor star Minka Kelly confirmed that she requested Levinson to alter a scripted nude scene as a result of she did not really feel “snug” with it.
The Weeknd “is comfortable” with Levinson and the brand new route The idol
A supply tells Yahoo there may be “no battle” between Tesfaye and Levinson. In reality, the musician thinks Levinson’s imaginative and prescient for his or her present is healthier than the route Seimetz took The idol.
That’s considerably much like a deadline report from April, when indicators of inside strife first reached the general public, claiming that Tesfaye wished a artistic overhaul as a result of he felt the present leaned an excessive amount of in direction of a “feminine perspective.” Nonetheless, the insider near the manufacturing tells Yahoo “it isn’t precisely correct” to categorize the issues he had that approach.
“The present remains to be very a lot about [Lily-Rose’s] character and he or she has been an integral a part of the artistic course of,” the supply provides.
Lily-Rose Depp speaks out
Except for sharing the clip, the actress launched an announcement in help of Levinson amid the RS drama.
“Sam is, for therefore many causes, one of the best director I’ve ever labored with. By no means have I felt extra supported or revered in a artistic house, extra valued for my enter and opinions,” she tells Yahoo. “Working with Sam is an actual collaboration in each approach – it is extra vital to him than something, not simply what his actors consider the work, but in addition how we really feel after we carry out it. He hires individuals from whom he the work appreciates and all the time has an surroundings the place I felt seen, heard and valued.”
HBO is prepared The idolat
A spokesperson for the community issued the next assertion to Yahoo:
The creators and producers of The idol have labored arduous to create one among HBO’s most fun and provocative authentic applications. Sadly, the preliminary strategy to the present and manufacturing of the early episodes was lower than HBO requirements, so we selected to make a change. All through the method, the artistic crew has been dedicated to making a secure, collaborative and mutually respectful work surroundings, and final 12 months the crew made artistic adjustments that they believed had been in one of the best pursuits of each the manufacturing and the forged and crew. We stay up for sharing The Idol with the general public quickly.
And Rolling stone backs his report
Editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman responded to Tesfaye’s tweet, “Did we upset you?”.
