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This story contains details of sex that may be disturbing
HBO has released the final trailer for The Idol, arriving after its controversial debut at the Cannes Film Festival, and a Rolling Stone report on a toxic on-set work culture.
According to the Rolling Stone report, the show had been turned into a “degrading love story,” with the script reportedly reworked to include “disturbing sexual and physically violent scenes” that were “like sexual torture porn”.
Revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, and auto-erotic asphyxiation dominate the first two episodes – and critics have not been kind on the show, which currently stands at 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, the final trailer gives a heady glimpse into the show’s story of rising pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and Abel The Weeknd Tesfaye as Tedros, an enigmatic, sex-crazed cult leader.
The new series – “from the sick and twisted minds” of Levinson and The Weeknd, according to HBO’s pre-publicity – is billed as a satire of the music industry and appears guaranteed to match the shock and awe of Levinson’s Euphoria, the show that captivated audiences with the confronting depiction of a recovering teenage drug addict.
The series’ original director exited the show in April 2022, after reports at the time alleged The Weeknd felt the show was portrayed too much from “a female perspective”, which the pop star has denied.
One critic, Variety’s Peter Debruge, described the show as a “sordid male fantasy” after it premiered in Cannes.
The Idol will be streaming from June 2 on Neon.
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