The Weeknd was looking to ruffle some feathers when he decided to create his controversial series, The Idol, as it premiered its first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, May 22nd, 2023.
While the show received a five-minute standing ovation at its premiere at the coveted film festival in France, it also shocked its audiences with its provocative themes and sexually explicit scenes.
During the press conference, the Save Your Tears singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, talked about the show and what inspired its dark themes, via The Hollywood Reporter.
“I initially wanted to make a dark twisted fairy tale about the music industry and heighten it,” said Tesfaye of the series he co-created with Euphoria creator Levinson and Reza Fahim.
He was joined by Depp, Levinson and several of the series’ co-stars, including Hank Azaria and Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jane Adams.
“[Sam and I] wanted to really see if we could create our own pop star, using my experiences, using his experiences, using Lily’s experiences from her point of view, to create something special, daring, exciting, fun, to make some people laugh and to piss some people off.”
Tesfaye said he’d never met anyone like Tedros in the music industry “I don’t f—ing think so…thank God,” comparing his character more to a movie monster. “He’s Dracula,” he said.
Creator Levinson chimed in, “It’s about how the world perceives a pop star and the pressure it puts on that individual. It’s a lot of pressure to constantly be on and to have to be what everyone wishes you to be.
“And I also think it’s a lonely life. We can all pretend that everyone is looking out for someone’s best interests, but I think fame really corrupts. I think it is very easy to surround yourself with myth makers, and I think there is something very scary about that.”
The HBO series stars Lily-Rose Depp, who plays Jocelyn, a Britney Spears-like rags-to-riches pop star in crisis after the death of her mother. In the series, Jocelyn’s ex posts an explicit photo of her online, further damaging her reputation. In her vulnerable state, she gets seduced by Tedros, a charismatic leader of an NXIVM-like cult, played The Weeknd.