Despite their unbreakable character bond in HBO and A24’s upcoming series “The Idol”, Lily-Rose Depp sometimes maintained her distance from Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye while filming the controversial series.
16.05.2023 - 17:23 / etcanada.com
The Weeknd is blasting Rolling Stone yet again.
In the “Starboy” singer’s June cover story in Vanity Fair, he addresses the music magazine’s March report detailing allegations of turmoil on the set of his upcoming show “The Idol”. Rolling Stone‘s story alleged delays, reshoots and a blown $54 million-plus budget contributed to the behind-the-scenes drama. They also called the HBO drama series “twisted ‘torture porn’” that had gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails.”
Hours after the story was published, The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, took to social media to upload a clip of himself as his “Idol” character, Tedros, ridiculing the magazine as irrelevant.
“I thought the article was ridiculous,” the actor tells Vanity Fair of the RS story. “I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”
Tesfaye adds that Rolling Stones‘ story was an indictment of his real-life character, specifically the questions of consent and misogyny that surrounded his work at the beginning of his career.
READ MORE: ‘The Idol’ Teaser: Lily-Rose Depp Is A ‘Nasty, Nasty, Bad Pop Girl’ In The Weeknd’s New HBO Series
Furthermore, he shares how he interpreted RS‘ subtext: “These are rapists trying to make a rape fantasy.”
The musician adds that his songs are nothing beyond an “adult, R-rated music” aesthetic, and that he’s “not responsible for how someone feels about my music.”
Last month, the Weeknd also addressed Rolling Stone‘s report while chatting with Interview Magazine, calling the publication’s rumours “hurtful” to the people who’ve worked hard on “The Idol”.
Elsewhere, Tesfaye tells Vanity Fair that while Tedros’ “cultish inclinations related to sex, command, and trauma” may seem to align with his image as The Weeknd, he relates more to
Despite their unbreakable character bond in HBO and A24’s upcoming series “The Idol”, Lily-Rose Depp sometimes maintained her distance from Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye while filming the controversial series.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director In HBO’s controversial new series “The Idol,” Lily-Rose Depp plays a young pop phenom who falls for a self-help guru and modern day cult leader named Tedros (played by Abel “the Weeknd” Tesfaye). Depp recently told Entertainment Weekly that no one in “The Idol” cast went “full Method [actor],” but that doesn’t mean some of them didn’t go at least half. Or that what it sounds like, at least. “I don’t think anybody went full method — nobody lost their minds,” Depp said. “Well, sometimes when Abel would get — I don’t want to reveal too much about where Abel’s character goes, but when he would be in full Tedros mode sometimes, I would steer clear of him. I’d be like, ‘He’s in his zone right now.'”
This Sunday (June 4) The Idol will premiere on HBO. The Weeknd (or Abel Tesfaye, as he prefers to be known right now)'s TV series screened at the Cannes Film Festival last month and critics took time out of applauding things for nine minutes straight to pan the show, dismissing it as "queasy" and "vulgar" among many other insults.
The Weeknd has released new single ‘Popular’ – featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti. Check it out below.The new track is set to appear on the highly-anticipated HBO series, The Idol — which sees both The Weeknd (going by his birth name Abel Tesfaye) and Lily-Rose Depp in the lead roles.Featuring guest cameos from Playboi Carti and Madonna, ‘Popular’ is the second song that The Weeknd has released ahead of the upcoming drama.
The Weeknd has dropped a brand new song with two big stars attached!
The Weeknd’s controversy-generating HBO series “The Idol” will soon be making its debut, and ahead of its arrival he’s promoting a big collab on the series’ soundtrack.
We’re getting a new sneak peek at HBO’s upcoming series The Idol.
which stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, an up-and-coming pop singer, and Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, as Tedros, a charismatic self-help guru who is hell-bent on making Jocelyn a superstar.The new trailer for the forthcoming series — from creator Sam Levinson — dropped on Monday, giving fans a look at the sexy and scandalous storylines to come. From partying at cocaine-fueled ragers to blindfolding Jocelyn in the studio, Tedros' antics start to raise eyebrows in her inner circle, as he positions himself as the solution to all the young singer's problems.«You're not a human being,» he tells her in the clip, sounding sinister.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer HBO’s buzzy new original series “The Idol” has been steadily building momentum on the road to its June 4 debut — including a lavish world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by one of the most talked-about afterparties on the Croisette. The show follows an embattled young pop star named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), recovering from a psychotic break after the death of her mother and hounded relentlessly by industry vultures that need her back on top. A sketchy Svengali named Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye) appears in her life, promising artistic and sexual liberation and fame beyond her wildest dreams. “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson steers the show with co-creators Tesfaye and Reza Fahim.
Lily-Rose Depp plays a modern pop star in the upcoming Max series, but for her inspiration for the character, she drew on icons from different generations.«Of course, there are so many incredible pop stars of today that I have nothing but admiration and respect for — and of course, you can't help but thinking of when you think of a character like Jocelyn — but we're definitely not telling anybody else's story or trying to base her on any real person,» the actress explained to ET's Rachel Smith over a virtual interview from the Cannes Film Festival, where the series premiered its first two episodes this week.«We actually drew from a lot of other influences that are not pop stars,» she added. «We thought a lot about Sharon Stone in and the Gene Tierneys and Lauren Bacalls… all of these women that were very inspiring to me for the role.»There was plenty of pop star inspiration for Depp to draw from on set, as well.
The Weeknd opened up about his new drama series “The Idol” as the first two episodes premiered at Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
idolizing.The upcoming HBO show “The Idol” — starring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye, aka “The Weeknd,” who is also a co-creator — is not getting glowing reviews from its debut at Cannes, where it screened its first two episodes on Monday.“The Idol,” or 50 SHADES OF TESFAYE: A Pornhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily-Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail,” one critic derided after viewing it.“Love that this will help launch the HBO Max rebrand, should slot nicely next to House Hunters!”Co-created by Sam Levinson of “Euphoria” fame, “The Idol” is about an up-and-coming pop star Jocelyn — played by Depp, who is the 23-year-old daughter of Johnny Depp — as she gets entangled with a sinister self-help guru, Tedros played by Tesfaye. The production has already been besieged by scandal, including an April report from Rolling Stone in which sources on the production described a chaotic environment behind the scenes and called it “torture porn” and “rape fantasy.”At the time, Tesfaye, 33, replied by posting a taunting message: “Did we upset you?”Another viewer who caught it at the film festival commented, “Ep 2 is straight-up pornographic there’s an entire 10-minute scene of The Weeknd talking dirty to Lily while she fingers herself for him, then he tells her to suck his c–k and she gives him head. The worst part is that Sam Levinson originally wanted that scene to be longer, too.”She also added that Depp’s character is nude or having sex in every episode.
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter One of the most talked-about titles at this year’s Cannes Film Festival isn’t a movie, but a TV show. “The Idol,” a scandalous, sexy and sure-to-be-polarizing series (think “Euphoria” but set in the world of pop music) about the price of fame, premiered two of the first five episodes at the festival and instantly inspired a thousand hot-takes about all that on-screen nudity, bodily fluids and Hollywood sycophants. But before “The Idol” — the brainchild of “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye — even made its way to the Croisette, an explosive report by Rolling Stone detailed on-set turmoil, including allegations of a toxic work environment, last-minute script rewrites and budgets gone wild.
Lord, give me strength. From the first minute of “The Idol,” the already controversial music-based television series from HBO Max (sorry, Max), it’s clear that creators Abel Tesfaye (formerly known as The Weeknd), Sam Levinson, and Reza Fahim want to incite a reaction.
The Weeknd has responded to a Lady Gaga meme that has gone viral has he announced the change of his stage name.This week, the Canadian pop star – real name Abel Tesfaye – announced that he was retiring his stage name and will be known from now by his birth name. It came after he vowed to “kill” his alter-ego.Last month, he shared a tweet reading: “ABEL formally known as The Weeknd?” and this week (May 15) then changed his social media profiles to the name Abel Tesfaye.Since then, fans have been reacting to the news on social media, with one Lady Gaga meme dominating the conversation.In one tweet, a fan shared the caption: “The assistant in the record store when I ask if they have any Abel Tesfaye albums in stock,” alongside a video of Lady Gaga performing the song ‘Babylon’ live, in which she sings: “We only have the weekend.”Tesfaye shared his love for the meme, replying with the crying laughing emoji.
“chaos” on the set of his upcoming HBO series “The Idol” as “ridiculous” in a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday.“I thought the article was ridiculous,” says the singer and actor, who now goes by his given name, Abel Tesfaye. He said he resented the magazine’s implication that “these are rapists trying to make a rape fantasy.”The Rolling Stone article relied on anonymous sources who described the Sam Levinson-directed series as “sexual torture porn,” and as “any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show.” Vanity Fair’s Dan Adler has seen the first episode of the series which features Jocelyn, the singer played by Lily-Rose Depp, responding to a comment by her assistant Leia (Rachel Sennott) that Tedros (Tesfaye) is “so rape-y,” with, “Yeah, I kind of like that about him.” Leia then says, “Joc, no, gross. So disturbing.”Tesfaye told Vanity Fair that he has more in common with Depp’s character than his own: “Tedros is that superego that we as men wanna stay away from as much as possible.
The Weeknd is speaking out against criticism surrounding his upcoming HBO Max series,, addressing creative shakeups and a lengthy report alleging that production had «gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails.»The 33-year-old pop star-turned-series creator opens up in a profile for 's new issue, on newsstands May 30, responding candidly to a March article claiming that behind-the-scenes turmoil on the set included chaotic scheduling, going over budget and last-minute script changes and overhauls on graphically violent and sexual scenes.By his estimation, The Weeknd — whose birth name is Abel Tesfaye — now says he interpreted the report's subtext as, «These are rapists trying to make a rape fantasy.»At the time the allegations were first published, Tesfayeresponded by sharing a clip from the show in which his character deems «irrelevant.» «I thought the article was ridiculous,» Tesfaye tells. «I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.»Meanwhile, Tesfaye remains unapologetic about the source material for the show.
The Weeknd is speaking out.
The Weeknd has changed his name across social media, following comments that he wanted to “kill” his alter-ego.The Canadian pop star rolled out the new title on his social media platforms yesterday (May 15), and now goes by his birth name Abel Tesfaye, instead of The Weeknd.He first posed the idea to his fans and followers on Twitter last month (April 3), when he shared an update reading: “ABEL formally known as The Weeknd?”. Currently, the tweet has over 124,000 likes and a substantial amount of replies, with fans sharing their thoughts on the change of name.The R&B singer also announced his intentions to switch names earlier this month, when he admitted that he wanted to “close The Weekend chapter”, and continue his creative endeavours under the new title.”I’m going through a cathartic path right now… It’s getting to a place and time where I’m getting ready to close The Weeknd chapter,” he told W Magazine.
Earlier this month (May 8), The Weeknd revealed he would be working on his final album under his stage name in this month's W Magazine cover story, hinting he was thinking of releasing music under a new moniker.