Lily-Rose Depp shares racy behind-the-scenes photos from The Idol as controversial series wraps
Actress Lily-Rose Depp celebrated the end of her raunchy series The Idol by sharing never-before-seen photos from the set of the scandalous show.
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Lily-Rose Depp celebrated the end of The Idol after the controversial HBO series wrapped early amid ongoing production drama.
“That’s a wrap on season 1 of @theidol,” Depp, 24, captioned a series of new, racy behind-the-scenes photos shared to her Instagram one day after the finale episode.
“Thank you all for watching, listening, laughing & crying with us.”
The daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis also shared how grateful she was towards everyone who was involved in making the controversial project, reports Page Six.
“Thank you to everyone – cast, crew, and everyone in between – who poured their hearts into making this show,” she said, also thanking co-creators Sam Levinson and The Weeknd for “the wildest, most beautiful journey of my life”.
“& My Idol family … I love you guys till the end of time,” she added. “️Idol forever. ️”
Lily-Rose also signed her sweet message with the name of her character on the show, “xoxo Jocelyn.”
In the new photos from The Idol set, Lily-Rose is seen posing in an array of skimpy outfits with co-stars including The Weeknd, Troye Sivan, Rachel Sennott and Blackpink singer Jennie Kim.
Several people ripped Lily-Rose for celebrating the show despite the severe backlash it’s been facing since the premiere in May on local streaming platform BINGE.
“Sorry Lily but this show was not it,” one person wrote in the comments section.
“Hopefully just one season. You and Jennie deserve a better project. And well, maybe The Weeknd should stick to music,” a second person wrote.
“This is so bad, I hope they cancel,” a third added.
“You deserved so much better. This show was incredibly abusive and honestly I don’t know how you’re defending it,” a netizen added.
But other fans defended the actress, saying that she did an amazing job on the show despite the critics’ negative reviews.
“I understand the critics, but honestly Lily’s acting was on point, she was soo good,” a supporter said.
“The Idol really is [a] big step in you career. You are finally showing people you’re not just [a] pretty nepo baby face. You are [an] amazing artist. Acting skills, singing & dancing on next level,” a second person agreed.
“Anyone saying the show was exploitive or degrading lacks serious critical thinking skills. You portrayed an honest depiction of the entertainment industry,” another claimed.
The Idol faced an onslaught of negative criticism after debuting at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Lily-Rose was immediately condemned for excessively flashing her breasts and bottom throughout the series. Meanwhile, the New York Timescalled the show a “Pornhub-Homepage odyssey” and many viewers claimed The Idol was “very exploitative” of Lily-Rose.
The HBO series had already faced scrutiny a month prior when sources close to the production told Rolling Stone that the series was filled with “torture porn” and “rape fantasy”. Additionally, there were claims the set was chaotic and toxic during filming.
Lily-Rose denied the accusations, telling The Post in a statement in March that Levinson was “the best director I have ever worked with” for “so many reasons”.
“Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way – it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it,” she said.
“He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard and appreciated.”
The Starboy singer, 33, also clapped back at the claims by posting a scene from The Idol to Instagram in which his character Tedros and Jocelyn agree that her posing on the Rolling Stone cover would be a bad idea because the publication is “irrelevant” and “past its prime”.
In the caption, he added, “@rollingstone did we upset you?”
Raunchy sex scenes and inappropriate dialogue, like a “disgusting” Jeffrey Epstein joke included in Episode 3, continued to anger viewers. And a witness exclusively told Page Six that Levinson ordered The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp to film a “disturbing” rape scene that was eventually cut from the final edit.
Yet, The Weeknd and Lily-Rose have continued to defend the project and Levinson.
“We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that,” Lily-Rose said in a June interview with Vogue Australia. “That’s something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning.
She added, “It’s OK if this show isn’t for everyone and that’s fine.”
The Weeknd agreed, saying that the backlash the show received was “very much expected”.
The show came to an early end when it wrapped after its fifth episode aired on Sunday night, one episode short of what had initially been reported to be a 6-episode first season.
“Seriously, all that drama and controversy for just 5 episodes???! I feel like I wasted my time watching The Idol, one “Very, very Disappointed” viewer tweeted.
“im starting to think either the idol critics were saying stuff just to say it to exaggerate or they were genuinely right and sam cut out certain scenes,” another added.
It’s unclear if there will be a second season but Lily-Rose’s co-star Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Jocelyn’s manager Destiny, told Variety the show “was never intended to be a limited series”.
“I think that everyone’s intention is to have a second season,” she said, adding, “nothing is official, but HBO is quite happy.”
Stream The Idol on BINGE. New BINGE customers get a 14-day free trial. Sign up at binge.com.au
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Lily-Rose Depp shares racy behind-the-scenes photos from The Idol as controversial series wraps
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