Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd, Abel Tesfaye, The Idol, Sam Levinson, Sex Scenes, Twitter, tweets

The Weeknd Has Defended ‘The Idol’s’ Truly Gross Sex Scene

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It’s safe to say that The Idol hasn’t exactly received glowing reviews so far. The show was causing controversy well before it was even released; and eyebrows were raised further still with the arrival of Episode 2, and specifically that sex scene. Ever since the episode dropped on Binge, my feed has been filled with horrified reactions to the graphic scene. 

ICYMI, near the end of the episode, Tedros (Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye) and Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) were seen engaging in a darkly-lit tryst. It basically consisted of Jocelyn writhing around on a bed and masturbating, while Tedros muttered very unsexy dialogue in a monotone whisper. 

Some of his creative lines included: “Fucking stretch that tiny little pussy”, “Put your finger down your throat, make that wet for me” (??) and “Imagine my tongue on your pussy. My fat tongue”. Yep, it’s as bad as it sounds. 

Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd, Abel Tesfaye, The Idol, Sam Levinson, Sex Scenes, Twitter, tweets

I guess The Weeknd has seen the backlash on social media, because he’s hit back at critics, claiming that it wasn’t supposed to be sexy at all. 

I’m not convinced, but this is what he told GQ: “There’s nothing sexy about it…how ever you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters.”

“It’s all those emotions adding up to: this guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here,” he told the publication.

The best tweets about The Idol’s cringe sex scene:

The Weeknd is also not bothered by the backlash his new show has been receiving, saying that he’s “happy that there’s conversation”. He may have a point, because sex quite frankly, still sells. And apparently, it doesn’t even need to be good sex to attract an audience. 

According to Variety, the viewership for Episode 1 reached a whopping 3.6 million viewers, beating both Euphoria and The White Lotus premieres.

There’s still four more episodes to drop, and I have a feeling that more people will tune in to see what all the fuss is about. 

Image credits: HBO, The Idol