The First Reactions to ‘The Idol’ Are in and People Have…Um…Thoughts

Sam Levinson’s, um…buzzy (sure, let’s go with “buzzy”) new show The Idol premiered at Cannes, and viewers immediately took to Twitter to react. Before we get into it, according to Variety, the show’s first two episodes featured “revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists, and vile Hollywood sycophants.” So yeah, The Idol—which, reminder, Rolling Stone called “torture porn”—sounds like a lot.

Sooo, what did Cannes viewers think? Opinions ranged from“a Pornhub home page odyssey” to“BLACK SWAN, SUCCESSION, and SECRETARY in a blender” to“the TV version of clickbait.”

Welp. A lot to think about here!

The Idol premieres June 4—reminder that HBO released a statement following Rolling Stone’s report that it had gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails,” saying that the “initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change. Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew.”

Lily-Rose Depp also issued a statement saying, “Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with. Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way—it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work but how we feel performing it. He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”

Meanwhile, The Weeknd posted this:

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