Lily-Rose Depp Sees The Weeknd As "Supportive Friend" Amid Filming The Idol

For starters, the stars of The Idol are singing its praises.

"We were each super-proud of this task and it feels similar a truly agelong clip coming," Lily-Rose Depp told E! News, 2 days aft the HBO series' May 22 premiere astatine the Cannes Film Festival was met with a five-minute lasting ovation. "To get to commencement The Idol astatine a festival similar Cannes is conscionable a imagination travel true."

Added co-star Troye Sivan, "We had specified a bully clip making it, truthful I deliberation it was lone due and just to nonstop it disconnected with a bang."

Off into the world, that is, aft months of anticipation arsenic to just how provocative the play from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson would beryllium to be, the writer-producer-director not precisely known for restraint erstwhile depicting the earthy broadside of quality behavior.

And yet, the contented of his caller show—about Jocelyn, an adrift, increasingly self-destructive popular star (Depp) who falls nether the thrall of Tedros, a manipulative nine proprietor (played by The Weekend, who's besides a bid co-creator)—would have travel successful for scrutiny nary substance what. Even HBO leaned in, billing The Idol arsenic a communicative astir the "sleaziest emotion communicative successful each of Hollywood." But that's conscionable marketing.

"When my woman work maine the article," helium told reporters in Cannes the time aft the premiere, "I looked astatine her and I said, 'I deliberation we're astir to person the biggest amusement of the summer.'"

As the makers of Don't Worry Darling mightiness venture, not each property is bully press. And reviews of the archetypal 2 episodes of The Idol range from Rolling Stone's observation (really doubling down connected its erstwhile reporting) that the bid is "more toxic and mode worse than you've heard" to Vanity Fair's take that it's trying truly hard to beryllium shocking, yet is "way excessively Top 40 to rattle the squares."

But people have been talking a lot about the first-ever TV amusement to premiere astatine Cannes (where, incidentally, a movie starring Lily-Rose's dad, Johnny Depp, opened the full festival). So earlier you justice for yourself whether The Idol deserves your loyalty, here's what everyone has been talking about:

Depp was already attached to prima other The Weeknd, and recently announced formed members included Sivan, Suzanna Son, Elizabeth Berkley and Anne Heche. (Berkley and Heche, who died last August, arsenic good arsenic immoderate different actors from that archetypal crop, are inactive presently listed among the formed connected IMDb but person not been in immoderate of the trailers and bash not look to beryllium portion of the last incarnation of the show.)

Actress and filmmaker Amy Seimetz, whose acquisition down the camera included The Girlfriend Experience and Atlanta, was connected committee to nonstop each six episodes.

The time aft that, Deadine reported that formed subordinate Suzanna Son was not going to beryllium returning, either. (However, Son inactive has a designated character—Chloe, follower of Tedros—and has appeared successful teaser footage.) At the time, sources told Deadline that The Weeknd had been unhappy with the originative absorption the amusement was taking, that the communicative was being told excessively overmuch from the "female perspective."

Meanwhile, Sivan, who plays Xander, Jocelyn's originative director, had already shared his thoughts—and helium was delighted to beryllium a portion of it.

"I'm conscionable having the champion time," helium gushed to W in a communicative published Feb. 22, 2022. The Idol marked his archetypal relation successful a TV bid and, helium continued, "the prime of each azygous facet of a accumulation similar this is truthful inspiring to watch. It's conscionable a brainsick experience, it's been truthful fun."

But the nonfiction besides quoted sources who were supportive of the production, with 1 saying it "couldn't person been a amended unit from my standpoint, from some Amy and successful Sam's lawsuit crossed the board."

HBO defended it arsenic well, stating successful effect to the story, "The creators and producers of The Idol have been moving hard to make 1 of HBO's astir breathtaking and provocative archetypal programs. The archetypal attack connected the amusement and accumulation of the aboriginal episodes, unfortunately, did not conscionable HBO standards truthful we chose to marque a change."

They concluded, "Throughout the process, the originative squad has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative and mutually respectful moving environment, and past year, the squad made originative changes they felt were successful the champion involvement of some the accumulation and the formed and crew."

The Weeknd, who shared the brunt of the disapproval of what the amusement had supposedly go with Levinson, yet said that helium thought the nonfiction was "ridiculous." So, helium explained for Vanity Fair's June 2023 screen story, "I wanted to springiness a ridiculous effect to it." 

He "loved" moving with Seimetz, helium continued, but determination were scheduling and different run-of-the-mill issues that led to the parting of the ways. "Shows get reshot each day."

Levinson concurred, telling the mag successful an email that helium sat down with The Weeknd to ticker what they had truthful acold successful aboriginal 2022 and "it wasn't working."

Recalling however his archetypal thought astir the Rolling Stone article was that it would lone marque the bid loom larger, helium told reporters, "We cognize we're making a amusement that is provocative. It's not mislaid connected us."

But the allegations successful the story, helium continued, "felt wholly overseas to me. But I cognize who I am…People tin constitute immoderate they want. If I person a flimsy objection, it's that they intentionally omitted thing that didn't acceptable their narrative. But I deliberation we person seen a batch of that lately."

Depp, who's been thing but supportive of Levinson and The Weeknd, noted, "It's ever a small bittersweet and disheartening to spot mean, mendacious things said astir idiosyncratic you attraction about. It wasn't reflective astatine each of my experience."

Levinson maintained that helium was "proud of this show, arrogant of however we made this show."

But arsenic acold arsenic the amusement itself, Depp accepted that it's present successful audiences' hands to respond to it nevertheless they will.

"The beauteous happening astir creation is radical are going to instrumentality mode from it what they privation to spot successful that moment," she said. "To me, it raises a batch of absorbing questions astir personage civilization and idolatry and however we spot radical we really don't cognize astatine each and speech astir them arsenic if we truly bash cognize them, and however unusual that conception is and what benignant of effect that tin person connected somebody's psyche."

"You conscionable don't ever cognize what's going connected down closed doors," Depp added, "even if you spot a batch of somebody's look and you ideate that you cognize them—you don't, unless you do."

The Idol premieres Sunday, June 4, astatine 9 p.m. connected HBO and MAX.