The Idol has not even been released yet, but it's probably safe to go ahead and award it '2023's most controversial series'.
The upcoming HBO series was created by singer The Weeknd and Euphoria writer-director Sam Levinson. It's release date is June 4, but it has already been the subject of months of criticism.
The series stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a popstar who tries to reclaim her successful career after a nervous breakdown and begins a complicated relationship with Tedros, a self-help guru and the head of a contemporary cult, played by musician Abel Tesfaye, who recently announced he was scrapping his stage name The Weeknd.
The series, co-created and directed by Sam Levinson, also stars an ensemble cast including Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Eli Roth and Jennie Kim from K-pop group Blackpink.
Here's a rundown on all the controversy.
The Cannes Film Festival reaction.
The first two episodes of The Idol premiered on May 22 at the Cannes Film Festival, with the cast and Levinson appearing in France for the event.
The series reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation — which are almost a formality at the event — but immediate reactions from reporters and critics in the room were almost universally negative.
Among the negativity, New York Times' awards columnist Kyle Buchanan called it "a Pornhub-homepage odyssey".
In a statement provided to the publication, Depp called Levinson "the best director" she'd ever worked with and said she never "felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued".
The cast deny the claims.
During a Cannes panel interview, Levinson said he knew they had made a "provocative" show, but the Rolling Stone article only confirmed his belief that he'd made "the biggest show of the [Northern hemisphere] summer".
According to Buchanan and other media present at the press conference, Levinson was asked how he created to sex scenes in the series without taking things too far.
"Sometimes, things that might be revolutionary are taken too far," he replied.
He also said the specific allegations in the story were "completely foreign" to him.
"My only slight grievance is they intentionally omitted anything that didn't fit their narrative. We've seen a lot of that recently," he said.
Depp also denied the article's claims.
"It's always a little sad and disheartening to see mean, false things said about someone you care about. It wasn’t reflective at all of my experience," she said.
Tesfaye said he wanted to "make a dark, twisted fantasy about the music industry", that would "make people laugh and piss some people off".
Feature image: Getty/HBO.
Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher.