‘The Idol’: Abel Tesfaye Says “There’s Nothing Sexy” About His Character’s Sex Scenes: “You Feel Embarrassed For The Characters”

The Weeknd has shared two new songs from The Idol ahead of this Sunday's season one finale. "Like A God" and Lil Baby collaboration "False Idols" are streaming below.

told Variety. “Nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.” Randolph, 37, portrays Destiny, Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) manager who has a bad feeling about sleazy nightclub owner Tedros (The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye) who deems himself the captain of the pop star’s career. The series’ first season has been widely criticized by fans on social media for its “nasty,” cringe and raunchy sex scenes — but Randolph said there could be even more to come.

controversial sex scenes and nudity — and Lily-Rose Depp is defending the “nasty” scenes after viewers branded it as “torture porn.”The HBO series — created by Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”), Reza Fahim and Abel Tesfaye (a k a The Weeknd) — follows pop star Jocelyn (Depp, 24, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis) and her strange and raunchy relationship with nightclub owner and cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye, 33).It has been slammed for its graphic sex scenes and has garnered controversy for behind-the-scenes mess. In March, Rolling Stone reported that sources on the production described a chaotic filming environment, and called it “torture porn” and “rape fantasy.”But Depp is shutting down the criticism, saying the sex scenes in the show are “important” and “intentional.”“We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that.

idol-istic. Viewers who have been watching the controversial HBO show “The Idol” expressed confusion, after it was announced that the upcoming fifth episode will be the end of Season 1. “I thought it was gonna be 6 episodes, not 5?? What happened???” one fan wrote. Another outraged fan complained, “this needs 10 episodes…story hasn’t gone anywhere.”The salacious drama – which has become infamous for its “nasty” sex scenes and nudity – is helmed by Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and musician Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, 33, who also co-stars. The plot follows troubled pop princess Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp, 24, daughter of Johnny Depp), as she becomes entangled in a strange and steamy relationship with self-help guru, club owner and cult leader Tedros (Tesfaye). “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy, 39, is also in “The Idol,” for some reason. (Maybe he just needed a paycheck).There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about how raunchy the show is – even though it’s tame compared to “True Blood” or even “Bridgerton.” It’s been slammed by critics for its graphic sex scenes, and it also attracted controversy for reports of its environment behind the scenes.

The Weeknd has shared a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy’ that’s been used in HBO’s new show The Idol.Ahead of the show’s fourth episode, The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, shared a version of Lennon’s classic song that appears in the show. The Idol is made by Euphoria-creator Sam Levinson and follows the plot of a pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) who develops a controversial relationship with self-help guru and cult leader Tedros (Abel Tesfaye).The cover was first teased back in April and the musician performed it in Norway earlier this week.You can check out the song here:Last week, The Weeknd and BLACKPINK‘s Jennie shared a new song that appears in The Idol – listen to ‘One Of The Girls’ below.Depp also appeared on two new The Weeknd songs ‘World Class Sinner/I’m A Freak’ and ‘The Lure’ from the show’s soundtrack, which were released earlier this month.The first single taken from the HBO drama was titled ‘Double Fantasy’, and hears The Weeknd (now going by his birth name Abel Tesfaye) team up with Future.

The Weeknd and BLACKPINK‘s Jennie have shared a new song that appears in The Idol – listen to ‘One Of The Girls’ below.The Idol is made by Euphoria-creator Sam Levinson and follows the plot of a pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) who develops a controversial relationship with self-help guru and cult leader Tedros (Abel Tesfaye).Depp also appeared on two new The Weeknd songs ‘World Class Sinner/I’m A Freak’ and ‘The Lure’ from the show’s soundtrack, which were released earlier this month.Now, Tesfaye has teamed up with Jennie, who also appears in The Idol as one of Depp’s backup dancers, Dyanne, for a new track.Listen to ‘One Of The Girls’ below.The first single taken from the HBO drama was titled ‘Double Fantasy’, and hears The Weeknd (now going by his birth name Abel Tesfaye) team up with Future. Like ‘The Lure’, the collaborative single featured production from The Weeknd and Mike Dean, and arrived accompanied by a music video that featured clips from the show.More recently the singer-songwriter and actor released the single ‘Popular’, which saw him join forces with Playboy Carti and queen of pop, Madonna.

After its HBO debut, The Idol quickly made waves for its controversial sex scenes and cringy storytelling.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music It is an interesting time to be Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd. Last summer, he was criss-crossing North America on his “After Hours Til Dawn” stadium tour while simultaneously doing reshoots for his HBO series, “The Idol.” This summer, he’s watching the reactions to the deeply controversial show while criss-crossing Europe on the second leg of the tour, which will move to Latin America and Asia into next year. He’s also doing press for the Emmy campaign for his HBO concert documentary released earlier this year, “The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium.” All the while, he’s been recording, as he always is. Despite, and because of, the polarized reactions to the first episodes of “The Idol,” the show has scored big ratings and even bigger conversation.

Sam Levinson reveals how he managed to convince The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, to play as creep on “The Idol”.

Ever since “The Idol” premiered earlier this month, there’s been much critique about its sexual material, including a scene in the premiere episode where pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) decides to flash her nipples during a photoshoot, despite the nudity rider in her contract.

The Weeknd is responding to backlash surrounding his sex scenes in the latest episode of .The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, opened up about the controversial moment in the second episode of the series in a new interview with . While the scene sees his character, Tedros and Lily-Rose Depp's Jocelyn get intimate on screen, Tesfaye said there's nothing «sexy» about it.«There's nothing sexy about it. When we use  as a reference, we're using Verhoeven.

Well, fans of The Idol, it’s looking like this is going to be your only season.

The Weeknd is responding to the backlash surrounding that graphic sex scene on his controversial new show “The Idol”.

The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, is facing backlash from the internet due to his role in a highly explicit sex scene in new HBO series The Idol.The singer plays a cult-like club owner who preys on a vulnerable pop icon struggling to create new music after the death of her mother.The controversial scene that has rubbed viewers up the wrong way shows The Weeknd's character, Tedros, firing off sexually graphic commands to Jocelyn, played by Lily Rose Depp, as she strips on her bed.The show, which has been described as a “rape fantasy,” has been facing criticism since it aired, with many people believing that this particular scene was in poor taste and crossed boundaries. One Twitter user claimed that she would “never see The Weeknd the same after this.” Another user wrote: “It sounds better when he is singing these lines.

The Weeknd is addressing his highly talked about moments in The Idol, and apparently they’re all part of the plan…

Save your criticism for another day. The Weeknd has claimed that his “nasty” sex scene with Lily-Rose Depp in the second episode of HBO’s “The Idol” is more pathetic than sensual. “There’s nothing sexy about it,” the “Blinding Lights” megastar, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, told GQ in an interview published Tuesday.

In defense of Jocelyn. Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd have been sharing their thoughts about the backlash to The Idol, which premiered on HBO in June 2023.

Lily-Rose Depp is reacting to Chloe Fineman's spot-on impression of her character, Jocelyn, on, and the actress' reaction can be summed up with three simple letters — LOL.Depp dropped a comment on Fineman's viral post from Thursday, in which the star spoofs Depp's pop-star protagonist, Jocelyn, with an exaggerated portrayal that includes smoking half a dozen cigarettes, wearing a backward bra and speaking with the same vernacular Depp's Jocelyn uses on the show.«Does my song f**k?» Fineman's spoof asks in the video while wearing dark eye shadow. «Like, music should f**k.»At one point, Fineman pulls a lacy red robe over her head and ties it around her neck, eerily similar to Jocelyn near the end of episode 1 when Abel Tesfaye's character, the club owner Tedros, tells her to «block out her world» and then covers her head in a red robe before puzzlingly proceeding with erotic asphyxiation.

The much-hyped The Idol premiered on HBO this week, revealing a curious mixture of music industry satire and less successful eoritc thriller homage. The show is centered around Lily-Rose Depp's Jocelyn, a pop star whose lack of control in life drives her into the arms of a mysterious club owner Tedros (played by The Weeknd a.k.a.

The Weeknd has released two new songs, ‘World Class Sinner/I’m A Freak’ and ‘The Lure’ – featuring Lily-Rose Depp. Check them out below.Both tracks are taken from his highly-anticipated new series The Idol, which aired on HBO last Sunday (June 4) with the opening episode Pop Tarts & Rat Tails.For those who have already watched the first instalment of the series, the first of the new singles, ‘World Class Sinner/I’m A Freak’, will already be familiar.