LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The new HBO series 'The Idol', which stars Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, has received negative feedback following its premiere at Cannes on Monday, May 22. The 23-year-old daughter of Johnny Depp, Lily-Rose, stars as an aspiring pop sensation named Jocelyn in the series, co-created by Sam Levinson, who is known for 'Euphoria'. 'The Idol' centers on Jocelyn as she becomes involved with a dangerous self-help guru named Tedros, played by The Weeknd.
The HBO Original series was ultimately unveiled during a jam-packed gala screening, drawing clear comparisons to celebrity meltdowns. Reportedly, the series was termed "50 Shades of Tesfaye: A Pornhub-homepage odyssey" by Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times. The Weeknd was also slammed and labeled as "misogynistic Abel" online for showcasing explicit female nudity but zero nudity from the male characters.
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Critics lambast Lily-Rose Depp starrer 'The Idol' for 'graphic' sex scenes and too much nudity
Revenge porn images of bodily fluids on Depp’s face
The first two episodes of the already contentious series were filled with revenge porn images of bodily fluids on Depp's face, masturbating with ice cubes, nightclub-owning con artists, and filthy Hollywood sycophants, according to Variety. The series pushes Depp through her rounds as a pop sensation recovering from a psychotic break following the death of her mother.
HBO emphasized that the "initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change." The project has been dogged by scandal, including a Rolling Stone article from April in which insiders described a chaotic work atmosphere and referred to it as "torture porn" and "rape fantasy."
Reviews have likened the degree of nudity in the show to 'Euphoria' and commented that it feels consistent with Levinson's penchant for "young, beautiful women sobbing off their avant-garde eye makeup," as stated by Rachel Handler of Vulture. The Los Angeles Times blasted the show as "ridiculous," adding, "The term “porn" is not inaccurate, though it’s tough to imagine anyone would consider any of the action erotic when it is so ham-fisted."
However, during the Cannes Film Festival, Levinson and the entire crew of the series were given a 5-minute standing ovation. Considering everything that has been written about the show's creator, Sam Levinson, and the show itself, the initial reactions to 'The Idol' coming from Cannes shouldn't be surprising. Amy Seimetz, the show's initial director, quit in the middle of production, and Levinson took over.
'The Idol' will make its world premiere only on HBO on Sunday, June 4, at 9 pm EST.
'How deeply misogynistic Abel is'
Meanwhile, fans took to social media to slam 'The Weeknd' and the creator of 'The Idol' for showing explicit nudity by Depp's character. However, there has been no sign of nudity portrayed by the male characters, which led online fans to dub Tesfaye as "deeply misogynistic." One fan tweeted, "The Idol having no male nudity only emphasizes how deeply misogynistic Abel is." The same Twitter user wrote, "Like you can’t even take off ur shirt but y’all got every woman on the show stripping down? even the female extras like it’s sick." Another fan noted, "Man there was something very suspicious about him ever since I heard his songs becuase (and maybe I am being too sensitive about this) but every lyric is always so sexually graphic ?"
A Twitter user exclaimed, "As a Canadian, I am not surprised. HE IS LITERALLY A TORONTO MAN. A TORONTO MAN IS A HUGE RED FLAG." Someone else chimed in, "I mean are we surprised here? When is the entertainment industry not misogynistic? All I know is this show is going to be a** and a Euphoria 2.0" A comment read, "He can’t even wear a tshirt with no sleeves on it but you have lily doing all this nudity…… a sick individual truly." Another wrote, "He wanted to be the star so bad but it seems people are only focused on jennie and lily even after they allegedly reworked it he must be seething."
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