‘Exploitative’ HBO series ‘The Idol’ slammed: ‘I hope Lily-Rose Depp is OK’

‘Exploitative’ HBO series ‘The Idol’ slammed: ‘I hope Lily-Rose Depp is OK’

“The Idol” is sending shockwaves through the TV screen.

Lily-Rose Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s highly anticipated HBO drama finally dropped last night, and the premiere episode has left viewers aghast.

The jaw-dropping pilot’s sexually explicit 60 minutes is full of scenes showing Depp’s character aggressively masturbating and going nude for a photo shoot.

Watchers across social media have scourged the series, touching upon Depp and The Weeknd’s acting skills — and a whole lot more.

#THEIDOL sucks. Bad dialogues, nudity,” wrote one Twitter user, conceding that Depp’s performance was “impressive.”

Not everyone was so impressed. “Lily Rose Depp can’t act. THE IDOL sucks as much as In-N-Out does,” an angry fan tweeted, referring to the notorious West Coast burger chain.

“Girl I’m ten minutes in and this writing is absolutely terrible. It’s also like I can tell they’re acting,” a person chimed in.

Someone else obliterated the show, blasting the stars and creator Sam Levinson, the mind behind HBO’s other controversial series “Euphoria.”


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Lily Rose-Depp portrays Jocelyn, an up-and-coming — but troubled — pop star in “The Idol.”The Weeknd

” ‘The Idol’ is simultaneously awful self-parody, a pretentious art project, and grotesquely exploitative of its subject matter,” they stated. “Sam Levinson’s dialogue is about as natural as a chicken nugget. The Weekend’s performance is awful. It feels like a show made by CIS men cause it is.”

Bad Feminist” author Roxane Gay even tweeted her thoughts: “LOL. How did ‘The Idol’ make it to the airwaves? It’s comically bad. Ejaculatory and vapid. They clearly think it’s subversive but it isn’t! It’s boring! Lily Rose Depp is interesting and it’s a shame she wasn’t given better material.”


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“Lily Rose Depp can’t act. THE IDOL sucks as much as In-N-Out does,” a user tweeted about the show.HBO

Other fans praised Depp’s acting chops, with someone insisting, “Lily Rose Depp is awesome in this show. As always.”

Another swooned, “Lily Rose Depp is hot… I am surprised she is doing nudity.”

One gushed over the “Earned It” singer’s role, penning, “Wow, well The Weeknd is actually a pretty damn good actor. He’s killing it in ‘The Idol.’ “


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The HBO series is full of sexually explicit scenes. HBO

“The Idol” revolves around Jocelyn, a rising pop star who begins a controversial relationship with cult leader and self-help guru Tedros, portrayed by The Weeknd.

Critics had already begun bashing the show prior to its release, over its NSFW depiction of sex and the entertainment industry.

One reviewer denounced the production, claiming that the second episode is “straight-up pornographic” with a shot showing the Grammy winner “talking dirty to Lily while she fingers herself for him.”


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The Weeknd and Depp play love interests in Sam Levinson’s “The Idol.”Eddy Chen/HBO

She also added that Depp’s character is naked in every episode of the season. “The show heavily exploits Lily … I hope she’s okay with it all because it comes off very exploitative.”

Despite the backlash, The Weeknd, Depp and Levinson have defended their series, pleading with viewers to see it with open minds.

“We always knew that we were going to make something that was going to be provocative and perhaps not for everyone. That was a draw for all of us,” Depp noted at the Cannes Film Festival last month, in an interview with the New York Times. “I don’t think any of us were interested in making anything that was going to be, you know, fun for the whole family.”