Shutting it down. The Weeknd fired again after Rolling Stone printed a scathing report that claimed his upcoming HBO present, The Idol, has gone “off the rails.”
The “I Can’t Really feel My Face” singer, 33, took to social media on Wednesday, March 1, to share a clip from The Idol that seemingly responded to the journal’s claims. The scene options Dan Levy’s character pitching Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn a possible cowl shoot for Rolling Stone. The Weeknd — who portrays Tedros, a self-help guru/chief of a modern-day cult — calls the outlet “irrelevant” and turns down the provide on her behalf.
“Rolling Stone has 6 million followers on Instagram, half of them most likely bots. And Jocelyn has 78 million followers, all actual I’d assume,” his character explains. “So she does a photograph shoot, she tags them, they get her followers. Extra money for Rolling Stone, nothing for Jocelyn.”
Whereas Levy’s character insists there’s “so much for Jocelyn,” Tedros replies, “Not in Rolling Stone.”
The Weeknd (actual title Abel Tesfaye) captioned the video, “@rollingstone Did we upset you?”
The Idol, which is pitched as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood” per the present’s official social media, was ordered to sequence in November 2021 and facilities on Jocelyn (Depp), an aspiring pop idol whose nervous breakdown results in canceling her tour. The story follows the singer as she tries to reclaim her standing and navigate a romantic relationship with Tedros.
Rolling Stone’s story, which was printed earlier on Wednesday and titled “The Idol: How HBO’s Subsequent Euphoria Grew to become Twisted ‘Torture Porn,’” highlights 13 interviews with sources who work for the six-episode sequence. The exposé claims that the present is being “delayed” on account of a poor working setting and last-minute script rewrites.
Manufacturing hit its first snag in April 2022 when Amy Seimetz abruptly stepped down as director after a number of episodes had been already filmed. Sam Levinson, who’s co-creator of the challenge with The Weeknd, changed her within the director’s chair.
Whereas Rolling Stone reported that The 38-year-old Euphoria creator’s takeover led to a “weaken[ing] of the present’s overarching message,” Depp, 23, informed Selection in a press release that Levinson is the “greatest director” she has labored with.
“By no means have I felt extra supported or revered in a inventive area, my enter and opinions extra valued,” she defined on Wednesday. “Working with Sam is a real collaboration in each approach — it issues to him, greater than something, not solely what his actors take into consideration the work, however how we really feel performing it. He hires folks whose work he esteems and has at all times created an setting by which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”
HBO, for his or her half, defined the present’s delays and personnel modifications in their very own assertion to Selection later that day.
“The preliminary method on the present and manufacturing of the early episodes, sadly, didn’t meet HBO requirements so we selected to make a change,” the assertion learn. “All through the method, the inventive staff has been dedicated to making a secure, collaborative, and mutually respectful working setting, and final 12 months, the staff made inventive modifications they felt had been in one of the best curiosity of each the manufacturing and the forged and crew.”
HBO has launched three teaser trailers for Idol, which is ready to premiere in late 2023, however has but to announce a launch date for the sequence.
