Hollywood has always been the land of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll, so what’s the hold up now?
The Weeknd’s highly anticipated show, The Idol, is set to release on HBO this June, but not after some criticism.
The musician’s series is set to focus on what it’s like to become a rising pop star and everything that comes along with it, the beautiful and the ugly.
In March, Rolling Stone released an article detailing certain challenges behind The Idol’s scenes.
First, the title of the article referred to the series as “torture porn” before adding that there were several delays due to scheduling and budget issues and last-minute changes to cut graphic scenes, including violence and sex.
The Weeknd isn’t here for it and had a message for Rolling Stone in his latest profile from Vanity Fair.
The Weeknd hits back: ‘Hollywood is a dark place’
The rapper was quick to state his displeasure with the Rolling Stone article, noting that he didn’t interpret the subtext in a positive manner.
He interpreted the article’s subtext as “These are rapists trying to make a rape fantasy,” which isn’t the case.
However, he won’t apologize for the source material of the show.
“I mean, this isn’t a secret. Hollywood is a dark place. Which makes for great art,” he explained.
For long-time fans of celebrity news and Hollywood, this much is true. For as much golden glow as there is, there’s often a dark shadow in some cases, where things aren’t exactly what meets the eye.
However, he had more to say than just that the show isn’t a “rape fantasy” and addressed the issues with reshooting and scheduling as well.
The Weeknd addresses reshooting and scheduling conflicts with The Idol
Following Rolling Stone’s scathing criticism of the show, Deadline also reported that The Weeknd thought the show had too much of a “female perspective” due to original director Amy Seimetz. The series was redone with co-creator Sam Levison.
However, he says this is just part of business and that “shows get reshot every day,” and he “actually really loved working with Amy.”
Plus, co-star Lily-Rose Depp felt that her input was greatly listened to, stating, “I really and truly have never felt more like my opinions and my ideas or my input was more valued.”
As far as scheduling issues and production timelines, these things change, and he expressed that he didn’t want to rush his first show at all.
Art takes time, and there will always be things to work through between the production business and the Hollywood lifestyle.
For now, we’re waiting on the show’s debut to form an opinion.
The Idol premieres on Sunday, June 4, on HBO and Max (formerly known as HBO Max).