‘The Idol’ fans cringe at ‘nasty’ sex scene: ‘Will never see The Weeknd the same’

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.

The Idol has received backlash for months for its nudity, sex scenes and portrayal of toxic masculinity, with many critics questioning its value. Now, the show’s star, Lily-Rose Depp, is defending the decisions of the show. «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,» she tells  in an interview for the July cover story.

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 confirmed that he’s currently “finishing” up his new album.The singer, who recently announced his plan to retire the moniker and record under his birth name Abel Tesfaye, has long teased a trilogy of albums that has so far featured the LPs ‘After Hours’ and ‘Dawn FM’.Now, in a new interview with Variety he has shared an update on the project and discussed how fan theories on the album’s title are incorrect.“I’m finishing the third part of this saga, of this trilogy,” he revealed. “The name of it will come out soon, but it’s not called what some fans think it’s called… what they think it’s called is actually a song on the album, but that’s not what the actual album is called.

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.

Everyone has something to say about “The Idol.” Since even before it premiered, the Max series — the “sick and twisted” brainchild of Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson — has been slammed for “too graphic” sex scenes and excessive displays of “breast and ass,” as well as a particularly “nasty” steamy segment that Tesfaye was forced to defend.The “torture porn” drama, which premiered with 900,000 viewers, follows Jocelyn, portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp, a troubled pop star who becomes increasingly enraptured with the mysterious, rat-tail-donning Tedros (Tesfaye). Now, even a famed snack brand is trying to crumble the show’s cookies.After it was prematurely reported that the show would be canceled after only one season, the official Oreo account replied with more fire than one might expect from milk’s favorite cookie.

Abel «The Weeknd» Tesfaye said this week he «very much» expected a negative reaction to Controversy surrounding the show and its production first surfaced several months before the first episode's premiere, when sources told  that the project had gone «wildly, disgustingly off the rails.» Most recently, referred to the third episode as «bizarrely edited» and «hackily written.» Tesfaye said he expected all of this criticism, but was not fazed by it. «It's almost educational, that this is what comes with being incredibly famous,» Tesfaye told of his show's treatment of fame. «You're surrounded by people who you're not sure what their true intentions are, even if it seems like they're good.

Rolling Stone reported that the new series from “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson was plagued with production delays and last-minute script rewrites — accusations that HBO vehemently denied. The production also underwent significant reshoots after former director Amy Seimetz exited the project as Levinson took the reins, which was when Randolph said she entered the series.“To my knowledge, there were two versions … [and] I came in the second time around when it was Sam helming it,” Randolph said.

William Earl After the third episode of “The Idol,” series co-creator Sam Levinson described how he developed the creepy, awkward and ambitious cult leader Tedros played by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. “We’re in Abel’s house, we’re talking it through, imagining the character Tedros,” Levinson said, in the series’ “Crafting the Family” featurette on Max. “And I would say, ‘Imagine you have all of the dreams that you have of what you want to do in life, in terms of music, and your career, all of the aspirations — but imagine you have none of the talent. That’s who this character is.'” Tesfaye described the character similarly in a recent interview.

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.

Sam Levinson‘s latest series “The Idol” hit HBO two weekends ago after its world premiere at Cannes in May, and the critical response is …not good. In fact, most critics think it’s a trainwreck of a show, which isn’t surprising given the stories that leaked during its production.

Not so fast. HBO has responded to a report in New York Post’s Page Six, citing sources, that the music drama series would likely not return for a second season.

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.

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 that very awkward sex scene from episode two of The Idol.

Ethan Shanfeld SPOILER ALERT: This story contains minor spoilers from the second episode of HBO’s “The Idol,” titled “Double Fantasy,” now streaming on Max. If that sex scene at the end of Episode 2 of HBO’s “The Idol” made you uncomfortable, then Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye accomplished his goal. Tesfaye, who co-created “The Idol” with “Euphoria’s” Sam Levinson, spoke with GQ after the scene, which features his character Tedros verbally seducing pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), sparked controversy online. “There’s nothing sexy about it,” Tesfaye told GQ. “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.”

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.

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.