‘The Idol’ is currently streaming on HBO. The series has been embroiled in controversy due to the highly sexualized portrayal of the female protagonist, played by Lily Rose-Depp, and The Weeknd accompanying her. A Rolling Stone article chronicled the stories of production and crew members who confessed to major changes taking place from the director to the narrative. It perpetuates the arc that it earlier aimed to satirize.
‘The Idol’ is the story of a pop star, Jocelyn, who is on her way to resurrect her career after a public meltdown. She meets Tedros, a mystic LA club owner who helps Lily Rose-Depp’s character to do so. After the first episode’s climax, the internet and critics have been criticizing the raw, raunchy s**t scenes and high fetishization. But the second episode tore the envelope in terms of s**t scenes on television, for which it received heavy vitriol. But Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, does not think the scene was at all sexy.
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The Weeknd Calls Sex Scenes In ‘The Idol’ Gluttonous
Episode two of ‘The Idol’ aired on HBO on June 11, 2023, and the viewers were left flabbergasted by the climax scene between Lily Rose-Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. During the episode, Jocelyn’s sensuous take on her new single gets rejected, and she fails to shoot the music video for her song ‘Freak.’ So, she calls Tedros over, and the two indulge in some awkward and very rambunctious sex act. Tedros commands Jocelyn to do certain sultry poses, which sound like a horny teenager being influenced by the p*** on the internet.
Episode two, ‘Double Fantasy,’ left the audience disgusted. But the co-producer and actor, The Weeknd, claims that the sex scenes are not sexy at all. During an interview with GQ, he said, “There’s nothing sexy about it. However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters. It’s all those emotions adding up to: this guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here.”
The Weeknd addressed the second episode’s intimate scene, saying, “The sex, it’s so gluttonous. Especially in Episode 2. ‘Gluttony’ is the only word I can think of [to describe it]. [Tedros] can’t believe he’s there. He comes off like such a loser. Those moments are the humanity that you find in a psychopath, the chink in his armor.”
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The Artist Calls His Character Despicable And Psychopath
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye plays the antagonist in the series, the bad guy who influences Jocelyn. The so-called mystic man looks despicable and desperate, but he is charming enough to make the pop star fall for him. In the second episode, Jocelyn’s friend and manager, Leia, suspects the hidden secret of Tedros, which alerts him to make his next moves very cautiously.
During the interview, The Weeknd talked about his character, saying, “He’s despicable, a psychopath — why sugar coat it? … There’s nothing really mysterious or hypnotizing about him. And we did that on purpose with his look, his outfits, his hair — the guy’s a douchebag. You can tell he cares so much about what he looks like, and he thinks he looks good.”
He added, “But then you see these weird moments of him alone — he rehearses, he’s calculated. And he needs to do that, or he has nothing, he’s pathetic. Which is true of a lot of people who are a fish out of water, put into these scenarios.”
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