There was a lot of hype when HBO’s The Idol was first announced in June 2021. However, all the hype was killed as soon as the show, starring Lily-Rose Depp, finally came out. The first episode was dropped on 4 June 2023 while the latest episode, Episode 4: Stars Belong to the World, was dropped on HBO Max.
The show features Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a rising popstar, and singer Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as Tedros, a powerful Los Angeles club owner and underground cult leader. The show was criticized mainly because of weird s*xual abuse with poor acting. Recently, The Parents Television and Media Council has demanded the removal of the show because of the content that it is airing out.
Parents are demanding the cancellation of HBO’s The Idol
With HBO’s The Idol controversies piling up, The Parents Television and Media Council has approached HBO to demand the cancellation of the show because of its depiction of “torture p*rn” and “s*xual abuse.” The show features Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, and singer Abel Tesfaye, best known as The Weeknd.
Not just the organization, but many people on social media have claimed that the show is unsettling because of the s*xual abuse in the show. Rolling Stone even called the show “a r*pe fantasy” in one of its articles.
The Internet reacted to the cancelation request
Many people on social media are comparing the show to Zendaya’s Euphoria, and are even defending HBO’s The Idol. Even Euphoria became a victim of strong criticism because of its content.
Compared to Euphoria, The Idol is more comparable to Boogie Nights, but that’s just me. I have a different kind of temperament.
— Eric Pellinen (@EricPellinen) June 27, 2023
Canceling it for nudity is insane lol. They should preface it a little more with warnings of high sexual content but they already do that … people will always complain NGL pic.twitter.com/IA7cB9IyiO
— Brian Long (@BrianLongFilms) June 27, 2023
Why are we trying to control what other discerning adults can watch? If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. If you don’t want your kids seeing, don’t let them watch it.
You can’t control media tastes and options of other adults, that’s a massive over reach.
— Meanwhile Back On The Podcast🎙️ (@Meanwhile_pod) June 27, 2023
Lmao maybe don’t put it on for your kids?
— Gonzo Film Reviews (@ReviewsGonzo) June 27, 2023
But when euphoria shows grown people playing kids having sex it’s ok?
— D.Man⭐️ (@blondyyyyy) June 27, 2023
Sam Levinson, who worked on Euphoria and The Idol, has been slammed for using an excessive amount of unnecessary nudity in his work. The main concern is how he oversexualizes and objectifies his female characters. One could see it in Euphoria as well as The Idol. The Idol went through a lot of changes before reaching the audience, in fact, the changes forced director Amy Seimetz to exit the project, giving Levinson the freedom to do whatever he wants.
The next episode of The Idol will release on 2nd July 2023 on HBO Max.
Source: Twitter
