The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, responded to criticisms about his upcoming television series The Idol. He created the show alongside Euphoria's Sam Levinson. The show stars The Weeknd as a club owner and cult leader who falls in love with a young pop star portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp. Earlier this year, Rolling Stone published an article about the show's previous director Amy Seimetz quitting and the sexually explicit themes. Tesfaye fired back, according to TooFab.
According to Rolling Stone, The Idol was “plagued by delays, reshoots, and rewrites” and “sexually disturbing.” Other sources said the re-shot version with Sam Levinson became an offensive and degrading love story and “torture porn.” Another said that, “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.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Abel Tesfaye responded to Rolling Stone, calling the article “ridiculous.” He also added that “shows get reshot everyday” and how he didn't want to hurry his first break into the film industry.
The Weeknd also claimed that the reason Seimetz left the show was her crowded schedule and production timelines, not that the show was too much in the perspective of a woman, like it was claimed before. “I actually really loved working with Amy and I'm sure she’s reading all this being like, ‘Why am I being thrown into this?'”
The Weeknd also denied the accusations of The Idol being seen as a rape fantasy, and that some of the attacks came after his character. “There were things in that description that have nothing to do with my persona at all.”
We can form our own opinions of The Idol when it releases on June 4 to HBO Max.
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