Sam Levinson Faces backlash over violent and disturbing scenes in The Weeknd’s The Idol script
5 min read
Leon Bennett/Getty Images | HBO
Actor and filmmaker Sam Levinson is recently criticized for a drafted script for the HBO series The Idol, which included several violent and disturbing scenes. Initially, HBO hoped to release the show last fall after House of the Dragon ended in October and left the Sunday time slot open, a source reportedly told the Rolling Stones. In spite of this, the production was reportedly hampered by delays, reshoots, and rewrites, leaving many people in the dark about its final release date. It was, let’s just say, a shit show, a production source was quoted as saying. According to the outlet, The Idol was dealt its first public blow in April 2022 when director Amy Seimetz left the project with 80 per cent of the six-episode season completed.
Rolling Stone reports that the production delays on THE IDOL were caused by Sam Levinson taking over as director and scrapping the nearly-finished project to rewrite and reshoot it.
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 1, 2023
He reportedly increased “the disturbing sexual content and nudity to surpass that of Euphoria.” pic.twitter.com/ABxd6SRqAq
In the past, HBO has mentioned they will adjust the cast and crew and the show will undergo major creative changes. According to certain reports, co-creator The Weeknd believed the show was headed “too far” into a “female perspective.” A Rolling Stone report also claimed HBO handed the show over to Sam Levinson after Seimetz left, but Levinson had allegedly changed the original script in some disturbing and offensive ways. The news of the drafted script and its changes made its way online, and some social media users even called for Levinson’s arrest.
Sam Levinson’s scripts for ‘The Idol’ contained disturbing sexual and violent scenes, Rolling Stone reports.
One of the proposed scenes involved Lily-Rose Depp’s character begging The Weeknd’s character to “r*pe her because she believed he was the key to her success.” pic.twitter.com/vJZxyme6qL— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 1, 2023Advertisement
The Idol Script Drafts Surface Online, Resulting In Harsh Criticism For Sam Levinson
It has been suggested that the Weeknd’s creative vision and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s directorial rehaul of The Idol have turned it into “sexual torture porn” and “rape fantasy” of a toxic man, according to Rolling Stone, a report from behind the scenes of upcoming HBO series The Idol. The production set up Amy Seimetz to fail by scrapping millions of dollars worth of her and her crew’s work in favour of Sam Levinson’s much more “disturbing” version. According to journalist Cheyenne Roundtree, Levinson’s version is much more “disturbing” than Seimetz’s. In 2021, HBO announced The Idol as a subversive, revelatory show examining the cult of the music industry. The network would be making a first in the field. Abel Tesfaye, aka the Weeknd, plays the enigmatic Tedros, who draws Lily-Rose Depp into his cult. In an interview with Rolling Stone, one of the cast members described the show as a dark satire of fame and the fame model of the 21st century. Our talent and stars are subjected to various pressures, factors that influence their public image in the post-Trump era, as well as the ways people can be manipulated to achieve their desired results. HBO encouraged Seimetz to put her own spin on the show, which was a layered narrative about Hollywood exploitation. However, the first-time showrunner Joe Epstein did not deliver finalized scripts until April 2022, and Seimetz left the production after the production went on hiatus.
A production member tells Rolling Stone what Sam Levinson’s direction for ‘The Idol’ was like:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 1, 2023
“It was like any r*pe fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better.” pic.twitter.com/p4EUla6DaC
At the time, Deadline reported that Tesfaye was concerned about the project’s female focus. It was claimed that HBO assigned Levinson the project authority, who discarded Seimetz’s original script and increased the disturbing sexual content and nakedness to match and even surpass his previous show Euphoria, thereby weakening the “show’s overarching message”. The story of The Idol, according to four other sources, became less about an injured celebrity battling a predatory industry figure and more about a degrading love story. According to sources, Sam Levinson scripts contained various violent moments between Lily-Rose Depp’s character and The Weeknd’s. Rolling Stone reportedly reported that a draft for one episode included a scene in which The Weeknd’s character bashes Depp’s character. A smile appears on the latter’s face and She asks for more beating, making The Weeknd’s character happy. According to reports, the scene was not filmed. As scripts were allegedly being changed on a daily basis and scenes were being shot and reshot, two crew members told Rolling Stone that they were uncertain about the future of the show. Several social media users called Sam Levinson out after the alleged revelation. We await Sam Levinson’s response to the latest claims regarding The Idol and the show’s production in the coming days as reactions continue to pour in online.
Sam Levinson ruined The Idol and Dawn FM era like I hope that man BURNS in hell
— dez 💤 (@98WKND) March 1, 2023
pic.twitter.com/U12C2b3IrX
the weeknd and sam levinson after creating a toxic work environment on set https://t.co/j7rYZ15FsO pic.twitter.com/qPeu4nKqts
— Saint Hoax (@SaintHoax) March 1, 2023
NEVER WRITE ABOUT WOMEN EVER AGAIN @|SAMLEVINSON pic.twitter.com/I9bn6XwymJ
— beth (@dayasdear) March 1, 2023
abel you’re on thin ice pic.twitter.com/z1qiF6oelw
— 𝖌𝖎𝖑𝖑 (@giligangickles) March 2, 2023
sam levinson is the real enemy here and yet you're here using ur burner acc to target a woman.. and mind u she said this last year b4 sam scrapped the original script. pic.twitter.com/cgI5Dl28Xz https://t.co/OSrVcfITbL
— niko (@jnkobsession) March 1, 2023
