Singer The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, is being mocked for hitting back at Rolling Stone after the magazine published a report referring to his new series — The Idol, helmed by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson — as “sexual torture porn.”
HBO’s new show The Idol, co-created by The Weeknd, received a scathing report by Rolling Stone, which discussed alleged chaos during production and hit the series for being a “twisted” show featuring “torture porn.”
The report included allegations by sources close to the show’s production saying that The Idol was nearly completed, but then the show went on a break before the finale episode was to be filmed, and things “drastically changed” when Euphoria creator Sam Levinson stepped in.
Levinson (pictured, left) ended up weakening the show’s overarching message by increasing nudity and disturbing sexual content, which sources said even surpassed events depicted in HBO’s Euphoria.
One production member suggested they just wanted to stick with using the show to attack what life is allegedly like “in the post-Trump world,” but instead, things got too sexually violent.
“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one source said of the changes made to the script once Levinson got involved.
Another source said The Idol “turned into a show about a man who gets to abuse this woman and she loves it.”
The Rolling Stone report also claimed that one scene in Levinson’s script — which ended up not being filmed — featured The Weeknd’s character, Tedros, bashing the face of actress Lily-Rose Depp’s character, Jocelyn, and that she smiles and asks to be beaten “more,” giving him an erection.
Another alleged proposed scene — which was also never filmed — featured Jocelyn carrying an egg in her vagina, and if she dropped it, Tedros would then refuse to “rape” her, with Depp’s character allegedly “begging” to be raped.
Levinson — the son of Rain Man director Barry Levinson — has previously been criticized for exploitive sexual content and accused of creating a toxic workplace on his previous HBO series Euphoria. From its pilot on, the show fixated on sexual anarchy among high schoolers — crafting plots around revenge porn, statutory rape, and drug overdoses. Crew members and background actors said Euphoria shoots went for long hours with no meals or bathroom breaks, partly due to Levinson allegedly improvising his shot list day to day.
The Weeknd responded to the report by sharing a clip from the show, in which Tedros and Jocelyn appear to tell their publicist (Dan Levy) that Rolling Stone is too “irrelevant” and “past its prime” to do a cover story with the magazine.
“@RollingStone did we upset you?” The Weeknd asked in his tweet.
Watch Below:
.@RollingStone did we upset you? pic.twitter.com/Uyx06lyRgx
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) March 1, 2023
The Weeknd’s response, however, caused him to receive backlash and be mocked by fans and other social media users in the comment section of his tweet.
“lmao imagine thinking this makes you or the weird rape guy look good,” one Twitter user reacted.
“this is plainly embarrassing, but also, the hubris to think that this will serve as a response to a story like that,” another commented.
“Abuse. Rape. Torture porn. Directors leaving. Unfinished scripts. Eggs dwindling in a vagina. Character begging to be sexually assaulted. Crew members pissed. Unprofessional nepo behavior, bad acting… and this is your corny response? Abel, bye,” another tweeted.
Another Twitter user said he has “many questions for the team of people who told you this was the way you should respond.”
“Not only is this a hall of fame terrible way to respond to an exposé about you but the scene shows these two supposedly Hollywood-savvy Instagram model characters turning down a magazine cover which is… not realistically what Hollywood-savvy Instagram models would do,” another pointed out.
“ad hominem arguments prob work well on set in a male-run rape fantasy biopic, but not so much as an official statement,” another wrote.
“sources from the idol production team say that sam levison was writing basically a rape fantasy”
you: u mad bro???
— roslyn (@roslyntalusan) March 1, 2023
“This is how you respond to folks saying your show is a r*pe, torture porn fantasy?!” another asked. “Not denial or explanation, but DID WE UPSET YOU?!”
“as a longtime fan this is extremely disappointing coming from you,” another Twitter user commented.
“go back to making music please,” another fan implored.
Many others also mocked the singer’s acting skills (or lack thereof), and shared images of The Weeknd’s past covers with Rolling Stone.
— Gina Martin (@ginamartinuk) March 2, 2023
“Same guy who bragged about being featured in the rolling stone on after hours? I’ve been a big fan of you but I’ve gotta say, I’m disappointed. The concerns of the article flew right over your head bro,” another wrote.
Rolling Stone entertainment reporter Cheyenne Roundtree also reacted, tweeting, “Should note that The Weeknd did not return a request for comment. But just posted this response.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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