“It is in no way to teach a moral tale”: Zendaya Went to War for Euphoria After Being Accused of Glorifying Drug Abuse Despite Spider-Man Star Stealing Role from Unknown Actress

While Zendaya might be known for playing the role of MJ in MCU’s Spider-Man series of films, the part that has gotten her a Golden Globe is HBO’s Euphoria, in which she plays the lead role of Rue Bennet. With the show being pretty popular with the younger audience, the series has been an influential phenomenon in recent years since its release.

Zendaya in a still from HBO's Euphoria — Zendaya in a still from HBO’s *Euphoria*

And that influence on the youth of tomorrow is harder to ignore as the show goes on, many have taken a firm stance against the show’s narrative which contains a lot of scenes in relation to substance abuse. But recently, Zendaya has come out to share her thoughts about the entire plot of the show in an attempt to explain the reasoning.

Zendaya Tries To Defend Euphoria From Drug Glorification Accusations

While the show might’ve been highly praised for its dark and jarring narration about teen life, the performances of the stars of the show have also been on par with the best in the business, and no one can deny the role of Zendaya as Rue Bennet to not make the most impact from the rest. While the character design and development might be amazing, the point of concern lies in its drug abuse narrative, something that many people have a problem with.

After an anti-drug organization started to rain down on the show for pushing the idea of the abuse of drugs on the vulnerable teenage public, The Greatest Showman star took to her Instagram page to share her opinions about the matter. Clarifying that the mission of the show is to tell a tale about individuals who are dealing with many of the problems that are present in real life and give them support to make them feel that they are not the only ones. In her post, she said:

“Our show is in no way a moral tale to teach people how to live their life or what they should be doing. If anything, the feeling behind Euphoria, or whatever we have always been trying to do with it, is to hopefully help people feel a little bit less alone in their experience and their pain. And maybe feel like they’re not the only one going through or dealing with what they’re dealing with.”

While many people might agree with this statement, some of them also point out the fact that the star stole a role from an unnamed actress that had dealt with the same kind of problems as her character in the show.

How Zendaya Stole Her Euphoria Role From An Unnamed Actress

While the show might be about the story of Rue Bennet and the other character facing and overcoming their demons, what’s ironic is the fact that Zendaya stole this role from an actress who went through a similar journey. During the 2022 Emmy Awards, the casting director for the show revealed that while the K.C. Undercover star had been the first choice all along, there was another actress who had a backstory corresponding to the character of Rue Bennet. But Zendaya’s raw depiction of the character was far more compelling than the other actress.

Euphoria, streaming on HBO Max

Source: L’Officiel USA