The Weeknd is not here for your criticism of his new show. After Rolling Stone published a takedown piece on The Idol — the musician’s upcoming HBO series from Euphoria director Sam Levinson — The Weeknd not-so-subtly shaded the publication on social media.
In a lengthy expose published Wednesday (March 1), Rolling Stone painted the series as a disaster project whose plot has devolved into “sexual torture porn” after the original showrunner, Amy Seimetz, was replaced by Levinson.
In response to the bombshell allegations, The Weeknd lashed out on Twitter later that day. He posted what appears to be a clip from The Idol which features himself in character alongside co-stars Lily-Rose Depp and Dan Levy. He captioned the tweet, “@RollingStone did we upset you?”
In the clip, Levy’s character proposes that Depp’s character do a cover story with Rolling Stone, to which Tesfaye’s character, Tedros, responds, “Rolling Stone? Aren’t they a little irrelevant?”
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Depp’s character Jocelyn adds. “I feel like it might be kinda past it’s prime, you know what I mean?”
Tedros adds, “Yeah, nobody cares about Rolling Stone.”
They had that one cued up and ready to go, huh?
The Weeknd declined to comment to Rolling Stone in their original piece, which included allegations that Levinson had turned the show into a “rape fantasy.”
One crew member claimed The Idol “was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better.”
While the 13 cast and crew members interviewed by Rolling Stone shared a bleak behind-the-scenes look, Depp refuted their claims in her own statement to the outlet.
She shared that she has never “felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued” than when she worked with Levinson on The Idol.
The Idol has yet to recieved an official release date from HBO.