The Weeknd has responded to the backlash against his first television series after a The Rolling Stone report claiming the production is a “shitshow”. The explosive revelation, released Wednesday, featured 16 anonymous sources, many of whom detailed a tumultuous creative process and questionable rewrites and reshoots on the HBO set. The Idol.
“@RollingStone did we bother you?” the Weeknd tweeted.
The “Die for You” singer shared a clip from the show of his character Tedros with Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp’s costar) talking to a character played by Dan Levy. In the clip, Levy, possibly playing a publicist or agent, encourages pop star Jocelyn to be featured in a Rolling Stone cover story.
“Rolling Stone? Aren’t they a little inappropriate?” Tedros said.
Jocelyn then suggests that the magazine is “a little past its prime,” with Tedros saying, “Nobody cares about Rolling Stone.” ” Tedros also opens his phone to compare the magazine’s 6 million Instagram followers to Jocelyn’s 78 million.
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Rolling Stone for comment on the tweet and clip.
According to a Rolling Stone piece, many on set said the Weeknd and co-creator Sam Levinson – known for creating Euphoria – a review of the erotic drama in a controversial direction after the director Amy Seimetz was fired, who allegedly used a “feminist lens. ”
In a reported to BuzzFeed News On Wednesday, HBO said it is excited for fans to see the series following a creative move that the creators felt was “in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew.”
“The creators and producers of The Idol has worked tirelessly to create one of HBO’s most exciting and inspiring original programming. Unfortunately, the initial approach to the presentation and production of the early episodes did not meet HBO’s standards so we chose to make a change,” HBO said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “Throughout the process, the team creative has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative and mutually respectful work environment.”
A source told Rolling Stone that Hollywood satire was “what satire was for him”.
Another source described the new creative vision for the series as “Any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have on the show – and then the woman comes back for more because he’s doing her music.” better.
Reps for the Weeknd, Levinson, Depp, and Seimetz have not responded to BuzzFeed News’ requests for comment on the report and the HBO statement.
