HBO’s The Idol, starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp, had its official premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23. And we’re learning some shocking details about the show.
Context
- Created by Euphoria showrunner Sam Levinson, HBO’s The Idol has been mired in controversy following years of reshoots and rewrites.
- A report in Rolling Stone alleged that Levinson had added “disturbing” sexual content, changing the original message of the television series. There were also claims of toxicity on set.
- The five-episode series revolves around pop star Jocelyn (Depp) who begins a romantic relationship with manipulative cult leader Tedros (The Weeknd) after having a nervous breakdown.
- At its premiere, The Idol was widely panned by critics and the show debuted with a poor 10% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewers are already revealing some pretty wild details about The Idol.
What Are The Most Shocking Things We Know About The Idol So Far?
the show is out so I’ll just spoil it. In episode 1 Lily is naked shooting her album cover, and a intimacy coordinator tries to intervene because it wasn’t approved, so her managers lock him in a bathroom and continue shooting her nude. The ep ends with The Weeknd choking Lily…
— chateau bunny ❄️ (@cocainecross) May 22, 2023
- There are several explicit (and long) sex scenes and an episode which allegedly ends with The Weeknd choking Depp.
- There is a further scene where a naked Depp gets locked in a bathroom by her managers and they continue take nude photos of her against her will.
- The show features a scene with a leaked revenge porn photo of Depp with semen on her face. The image goes viral and The Weeknd encourages her to make the photo her album cover.
- In another scene, Depp says about The Weeknd’s character: “He’s rapey, I kinda like that about him”
- Vulture reports that in episode one, Depp and The Weeknd record her single after he wraps a silk robe around her face, suffocating her. She begins to audibly panic, but he pulls out a pocket knife and cuts a small hole for her mouth and tells her to sing from it, then appears to have sex with her.
the idol is what happens when you let a man with a porn addiction direct a tv show https://t.co/TUZk6VATr7
— rion (@lvsickgoth) May 23, 2023
interesting pic.twitter.com/Eojn6H9gnr
— ohteen (@ohteenig) May 23, 2023
What’s next
- Despite the bad reviews, the cast and creators do not seem to be fazed. Levinson predicts The Idol will be “the biggest show of the summer.”
- The Idol is scheduled to air on HBO on June 4 and maybe huge audiences will be hate-watching it into stardom.
Update 05/23/2023 by Pesala Bandara: Information on The Idol’s decrease to a score of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes added./em>
