The Canadian singer-turned-actor is 'grateful' to complete the first season of the HBO series despite the backlash it faced due to its explicit content after the last episode aired.
- Jul 4, 2023
AceShowbiz - The Weeknd admitted it was a "bumpy" ride as he celebrated the end of "The Idol". The HBO show, which was created by "Euphoria" writer Sam Levinson, The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) and Reza Fahim, ended after five episodes instead of the originally scheduled six and had been met with fierce backlash, with some critics even describing the series as "torture porn" due to its explicit content.
The last episode aired on Sunday night, July 2, and the next day The Weeknd wrote on Instagram, "The finale. Grateful to share this moment with you all as the season comes to an end. Continue to push the vision no matter how bumpy the journey."
The show followed Lily-Rose Depp's pop star character Jocelyn, who turned to self-help guru and cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye) after having a nervous breakdown. In the finale, she turned the tables on Tedros for his attempts to control her life and career.
Abel, 33, recently addressed the backlash over the show's explicit moments, and insisted the sex scenes in the show aren't meant to be "overtly sexy." Asked in particular about a particularly graphic scene in episode two, he told GQ magazine, "No. There's nothing sexy about it. When we use 'Basic Instinct' as a reference, we're using Verhoeven. Verhoeven is the king of '90s satire thriller-yes, there's moments of 'sexy' in his films but there are other moments that are very cheesy and hilarious. 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."
And Lily-Rose has backed everyone involved for creating "something provocative" despite criticism. She told Vogue Australia, "We know that we're making something provocative and we are not shying away from that. That's something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning. I was never interested in making something puritanical. It's OK if this show isn't for everyone and that's fine - I think all the best art is [polarising]."
