The Idol first reactions are in: HBO show divides Cannes with ‘too much nudity’

Euphoria creator Sam Levinson premiered his upcoming show The Idol at the Cannes Film Festival. The show which had attracted attention even before its premiere due to controversy surrounding its creative clashes and toxic workplace cultures, shocked the packed Cannes audience with its raunchy scenes in the first two episodes, but also garnered a 5-minute standing ovation by the end. (Also read: Anurag Kashyap gave Sunny Leone videos of Anushka Sharma, Raveena Tandon to prep for Kennedy: They laugh wholeheartedly)

Premiering Out of Competition, The Idol stars The Weeknd in his TV debut, who is going by his real name Abel Tesfaye, and Lily Rose-Depp. After its Cannes premiere, social media was flooded with first reactions where many were left scandalized with nude scenes, bodily fluids and its explicit takedown of superstardom.

As per a report by Deadline, Sam, who attended with the premiere with the cast of the series got emotional after it received the standing ovation. He said, “I am incredibly proud of this show, and I’m proud of the way we made this show. I feel like I gained a family .. I know that sounds a little culty but that’s the way it feels.” The Idol revolves around the character of Lily Rose-Depp, named Jocelyn, who is an ambitious star trying to get past her recent nervous breakdown during tour to return back and make it big. When she meets Tedros (Tesfaye), a self-help guru who runs a contemporary cult, their relationship takes a turn to larger ambitions. The cast includes Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, and Moses Sumney.

“Lots of strong reactions to #TheIdol out of #Cannes2023 — ranging from ‘I hated it’ to ‘the TV version of clickbait’ to ‘I don’t need to see any more of Lily-Rose Depp naked.'” said a critic on Twitter. Another wrote, “Yeah, THE IDOL has the EUPHORIA vibes you might expect but it’s really more like somebody put BLACK SWAN, SUCCESSION, and SECRETARY in a blender and let it rip. Prepare yourself for quite the discourse… #cannes”. “‘The Idol,’ or 50 SHADES OF TESFAYE: A P*rnhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily-Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail,” tweeted another.

Earlier, it was reported that there were a dozen anonymous members from the crew who labelled the set of The Idol to be exceedingly toxic. Director Amy Seimetz left the series with allegedly 80 per cent of the series filmed. After that Sam came on board with multiple re-writes and reshoots, adding more nudity and sexual content.

The Idol is set to release on HBO from June 6.