Eyebrows were raised over the scandalous scenes in the series (Picture: HBO/Sky)
The Idol’s showrunner Sam Levinson and leading lady Lily-Rose Depp have defended the series’ controversial sex scenes and explicit content.
Due to start streaming next month on HBO Max, the music industry drama – which Levinson co-wrote with singer Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye – has teased raunchy material via its trailers and premiered at Cannes Film Festival on Monday night to an emotionally received five-minute standing ovation.
However, many eyebrows were also raised courtesy of scandalous scenes involving instances of masturbation, choking and a subplot involving a photo of Depp’s character Jocelyn with bodily fluids on her face.
Jocelyn also spends a fair amount of The Idol semi-dressed in clothing comprised mainly of strings and strips of lace.
However, Levison has pointed to the influence of porn on America and how it has already been reflected in the music industry, with Jocelyn a popstar making her comeback after a nervous breakdown.
Responding to a question about the sexual material being called both ‘revolutionary’ and facing accusations of going ‘too far’, he told Metro.co.uk and other titles at the show’s press conference on Tuesday: ‘I think that sometimes things that might be revolutionary are taken too far.
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‘We live in a very sexualised world, especially in the States, where the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of young people. And we see this in pop music and how it reflects the underbelly of the internet in some way.’
Addressing building the character of Jocelyn, he also revealed that he and Depp ‘had a lot of discussions about who Jocelyn is as a person and what she’s feeling, what she’s angling, who she’s playing to’.
He added: ‘There’s two things that happen when you have a character that has such a strong sense of self and such a strong sexual sense – you end up underestimating her because you’re not quite sure why she’s doing this, why she’s wearing his, why is she singing about this. And at the same time, it’s also what allures people, it’s what attracts an audience, it’s what attracts an imagination.’
‘I think it’s very true to what almost every popstar is doing these days,’ the Euphoria creator argued.
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‘I think the occasional bareness of the character physically mirrors the bareness that we get to see emotionally in her,’ the actress said (Picture: HBO/Sky)
Depp, 23, was also keen to express that her nudity and performing in risqué content for The Idol ‘felt very important to the character’.
‘Jocelyn is a born and bred performer – and I think that extends to every aspect of her life, not just her professional …read more
Source:: Metro
