The Weeknd is an accomplished singer due to make his acting debut in the HBO series “The Idol.”
The singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, stars alongside Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, in the show about the “seedy underbelly” of Hollywood.
For months, HBO and the “Save Your Tears” singer have been promoting the series without a concrete release date. However, a new exposé by Rolling Stone blames that on chaos and drama on the show’s set.
The publication cited over a dozen interviews with people involved in production. Some claim the show will never come out. They told the magazine that the initial show has gone “wildly and disgustingly off the rails.”
The article claims that the initial director, Amy Seimetz, was fired and Sam Levinson of “Euphoria” fame was brought in to save the show. It’s reported that once Levinson got on board, things became much racier.
That’s not much of a surprise, as “Euphoria” is known for its intensity and border-pushing nature of high school life.
According to the report, the move wasn’t cheap. The director reportedly scrapped the “$54-$75 million project” to rewrite the whole thing.
One person told the publication that the Weeknd wanted this change.
“A source with knowledge seconds that Tesfaye was the reason behind the shakeup, wanting to tone down the cult aspect of the storyline and pivot into something else entirely, dropping the ‘feminist lens’ through which the show was being told as a result,” the report said. “‘It was like the Weeknd wanted one show that was all about him — Sam was on board with that.'”
Apparently, there are many deeply sexually exploitative scenes.
“It’s almost such an extreme that it’s like, there is no message,” one Idol crew member explained. “There is no point. They’re just trying to see how much of a reaction they can get.”
“What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century,” one production member said. “The things that we subject our talent and stars to, the forces that put people in the spotlight, and how that can be manipulated in the post-Trump world.”
However, that wasn’t the case.
“It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing,” the crewmember added.
While the tone shifted, production went on longer and for millions more than anyone expected.
“Crewmembers who stuck around for the revamped show say the working environment was no better than the first shoot, and no one from HBO was stepping in to make sure the production was kept on track,” two sources said.
The magazine reported that the shoot was supposed to be from May to July, but ended up extending into September, “despite the cast and crew celebrating at a wrap party in July. Come October, even more filming took place.”
The Weeknd caught wind of the article himself and fired back at Rolling Stone via a post on Instagram, which featured a scene from “The Idol” with him, Depp and Dan Levy talking about the magazine and how it was “irrelevant” to Depp’s character, Jocelyn.
The post was captioned “Rolling Stone, did we upset you?”
While the post alludes that the publication was upset by the clip, Rolling Stone said that’s not the case.
Editor-in-Chief Noah Schactman tweeted “Not at all” along with two of the magazine’s covers showing the “Blinding Lights” singer.
The article prompted stories in other publications and a denial from Depp who said she didn’t mind the change in tone.
“Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input, and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way — it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”
HBO has also weighed in.
The network told THR that it paused the show last year because “the initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change.”
“Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew,” the statement continued. “We look forward to sharing ‘The Idol’ with audiences soon.”
