the idolthe new series that will dominate HBO’s Sundays, arrives on June 4 with all kinds of controversies under its belt.
It will tell the story of Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp), a singer who has to abandon her career due to a nervous breakdown and then wants to try to put it back on track with the unconventional help of a spiritual leader.
Why does The Idol come with all sorts of controversies under its arm and could it be one of the strongest in HBO history? For many reasons.
the controversies
The series, which today appears as if it was created by Abel “The weekend” Tesfaye, Pray to Fahim AND sam levinsonhad received the green light in 2021 when Amy Seimetz was the one designated to be the showrunner.
But one day, after most of his episodes had already been recorded, Seimetz left the project. When asked about the director’s decision, The Weeknd argued that The Idol, because of Seimetz, was having an excessively feminine perception…
It is worth clarifying that Amy had received the episode scripts in the middle and without the written season finale, which caused the departure of both her and many other members of her team and the arrival of new ones, such as Rachel Sennott, Dan Levy or Hank Azaria.
Consequently, Levinson, who had come from wreaking havoc with Euphoria (Euphoria), he took the helm and the production raised its tone from satirical to semi-pornographic -or so denounce several insiders to the series, according to an article in Rolling Stone magazine-.
As if Levinson’s audacity in prime-time Euphoria wasn’t enough, in The Idol there seems to be more sex scenes, more nudes and more rarities than in the director’s previous work.
Levinson edited the six episodes that had already been taped to give the series his own tone. The budget, of course, has skyrocketed.
Statements that echoed
Recently -according to Rolling Stone- 13 cast members sharply criticized the work of showrunner.
One, for example, said that the production was “a disaster”; another, that the story has gotten worse; a third, that Levinson was a “star”; a fourth person that The Idol was “like a rape fantasy any toxic man would have on the show and then the woman comes back for more because she makes her music better than she does.”
“I can’t have a job that makes me cry every day because I only have two hours to sleep and they take me 100 directions because nobody does it or nobody knows what they want because we don’t know what we’re shooting,” said one worker. .
To make matters worse, a source (we don’t know if strategically to generate curiosity or not) leaked what would have been one of the strongest scenes in both the series and probably HBO’s history.
Allegedly, at one point on The Idol, Depp’s character had to insert an egg into her vagina with the promise that if it came out or broke, she wouldn’t be raped. As a result, she allegedly dragged him down and begged to be raped because he believed she was the key to his success. “It was like a sexual torture porn“, the leaker summarized.
Word of Lily-Rose Depp
Not everyone is pale for Levinson. The director has always had the unconditional support of his muse.
Depp called Levinson “the best director I’ve ever worked with” and said she felt “supported and respected in a creative space” like never before.
The Rolling Stone article didn’t please the crew bosses. Both The Weeknd and HBO spokespersons came out to deny the statement. The former let it be understood in a tweet; the company with the following statement:
“The initial approach of the series and the production of the first episodes unfortunately did not meet the standards of HBO, so we decided to make a change. Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative and mutually respectful work environment, and last year the team made creative changes that they felt were in the best interests of both the production and the cast and crew. crew. We look forward to sharing The Idol with the public soon”.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.