Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreira silences feud rumours with creator, talks S3 exit: ‘I don’t want to play the fat best friend’

Euphoria is all set to return for Season 3 minus one major cast member. Barbie Ferreira, who played the character of Kat Hernandez in Euphoria, announced last August that she’s leaving the show, surprising many fans who then speculated whether she had a feud with creator Sam Levinson. However, in a recent podcast, the actor has denied any such angle and spilled the real reason why she felt the need to leave the Emmy-winning show. (Also read: Euphoria Season 3: All the details and what’s in store for the hit HBO show)

Euphoria stars Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi in pivotal roles. Zendaya recently won her second Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in the show as Rue. Last year, Barbie took to her Instagram Stories to announce that she’s exiting the show, and wrote in the caption, “After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m have to say a very teary eyed goodbye. I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”

Talking on the Armchair Expert podcast about the reason she exited the show, Barbie said, “So, for me, when people ask me about Season 2, it’s usually they come at me with, like, I was some sort of victim to Season 2 and I’m always like, ‘No, it’s okay, promise. It’s good.’ I kind of got sucked into this drama that I never asked to be in and that I’ve never talked about. I’m of the mindset that if it doesn’t exit I’m not going to address it because then I’m adding fuel to it. It’s taken on a life of its own. Don’t believe everything you read. I actually did not walk off set. I did sprain my ankle once and had to go get an X-ray. Maybe that’s what they mean?”

She added, “I don’t think there was a place for [Kat] to go. I think there were places she could have gone. I just don’t think it would have fit into the show. I don’t know if it was going to do her justice, and I think both parties knew that. I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend. I don’t want to play that, and I think they didn’t want that either. Sam writes for, like, things that he relates to. I don’t think he relates to Kat. I like Kat, so I get to go on my own path. At first, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m a flop. I’m a loser.’ It really has been a good thing.”

The shooting for Season 3 of Euphoria is scheduled to begin later this year and the makers are reportedly eyeing a release next year. No official dates have been announced yet.