Euphoria director Sam Levinson addresses Sydney Sweeney’s ‘vulgar’ OnlyFans storyline
Topics: Euphoria, TV And Film, Celebrity, Sydney Sweeney, HBO, Social Media
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Topics: Euphoria, TV And Film, Celebrity, Sydney Sweeney, HBO, Social Media
After years of waiting, Euphoria fans were treated to the latest instalment in the hit American drama.
The first episode of the third season hit our screens on Monday (13 April), with the remaining seven episodes to land on HBO every Monday until June 1st.
It's clear that show creator Sam Levinson took no time easing viewers into the show, which picks up after a five-year jump.
The premiere episode sees Sydney Sweeney's character, Cassie Howard, now living with her fiancé, Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi, as she tries her hand at OnlyFans content in order to make a little extra cash for her upcoming wedding.
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At one point, Cassie dresses up as a dog to engage in some version of 'pup play', donning a plunging brown bodysuit alongside dog ears, a collar, a lead, wrist cuffs and a drawn-on nose to complete the canine get-up.
She also crawled about on all fours and drank from a water bowl for a video, a storyline which many fans have slammed as being 'degrading' and 'vulgar'.
"This is so embarrassing even for Jacob. But how can Sydney Sweeney agree to do something like this? It's like a humiliation ritual," declared one social media user.
"Getting Sydney to do this is diabolical," lamented another.
And a final critic echoed: "I just can’t believe Sydney Sweeney agreed to do half the sh*t we’re gonna see this season. Role-playing as a dog? Girl STAND UP..."
Others, however, couldn't have disagreed more.
"You guys are mad asf!!! She’s just doing her job, she’s playing an OnlyFans creator. Guess what, some people do this type of thing in real life," one fan wrote.
A second piped up: "Girl, it's called acting. Sydney's playing a messy character on a show that's always been wild and unhinged. If it was too much for her, she wouldn't have signed on. People acting shocked like they haven't seen Euphoria before lol."
And a third echoed: "The criticism of Cassie as a character and the shaming of the character’s actions is 100% valid, but blaming Sydney is absurd. She’s an actress playing a character and a talented one at that. The hate she gets is so unwarranted."
And now Levinson has addressed the matter in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Sunday (12 April).
Speaking about scouting Cassie and Nate's sunny California home, DP Marcell Rév explained: "An obvious choice would’ve been something modern and very plain and fancy, but we ended up choosing this mid-century home, which is a little tacky, but also stuck in the ‘70s.
"It’s probably a strange choice, but also it gives us possibilities."
He added: "OnlyFans has its own aesthetic and how you elevate that aesthetic to the show’s aesthetic is a challenge, I’m not going to lie."
Levinson added: "[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humour, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.
"What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion — the gag is to jump out, to break the wall."
The first episode of Euphoria season 3 landed in the UK on Monday (13 April).
Only the premiere drops on that date, as the rest roll out weekly.
You can stream every episode on HBO Max in the UK.
It will also air on Sky Atlantic and be available via NOW, as with previous seasons.
As an HBO original, season 3 drops one episode at a time.
There are eight episodes in total, with the final instalment due on 1 June.