A particularly explicit scene that aired on Sunday night’s episode of HBO’s The Idol has left viewers appalled.
“I will never see the weeknd the same after this #theidol,” tweeted one viewer.
Now, The Weeknd is one of the biggest stars in the industry today. Born as Abel Tesfaye in Scarborough near Toronto back in 1990, the star has gone by his stage name since 2010.
He has previously discussed his younger years as being a difficult time, where the star experienced homelessness and addiction after dropping out of education aged seventeen.
Now aged thirty-three, Tesfaye has gone on to become one of the most successful musicians of the last decade, having sold over seventy-five million records and even being dubbed the ‘world’s most popular artist’ earlier this year by Guinness World Records.
Some of his most famous tracks include ‘Blinding Lights’, which held a spot in the Billboard top ten for an entire year, as well as ‘Can’t Feel My Face’, ‘Starboy’ and ‘Earned It’.
Aside from success in the charts, Tesfaye has also received critical acclaim. To date, the star has won 4 Grammy Awards, twenty Billboard Music Awards and 6 American Music Awards. He has even been nominated for an Academy Award for his track ‘Earned It’ for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.
However, the star is expanding his skillset, as he is starring in The Idol alongside Lily-Rose Depp, a HBO drama revolving around the world of music. Tesfaye plays a cult leader and self-help guru who becomes involved with Depp’s character, an aspiring pop idol.
His role in the show might be a sign that Tesfaye is planning to step back from his current industry, as he opened up to W Magazine about the future of the project of The Weeknd.
“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say,” he shared.
He continued to say that he may make music ‘as Abel, or maybe The Weeknd,’ but that he plans to ‘kill’ his persona as we know it.
“And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn,” he added.
In the interview, he touched on his transition from music to the screen: “Film and TV is a new creative muscle for me. I don’t release my music until I think it is great. Why would this be any different?”
Tesfaye created the show alongside Reza Fahim and Euphoria showrunner Sam Levinson. He is also on track to produce the soundtrack for the show.
The Idol also stars big names such as Dan Levy, Troye Sivan, Eli Roth and Suzanna Son. It made its debut on HBO on June 4, and already fans are calling it out.
An explicit scene that aired on Sunday night’s episode of The Idol has caused dozens of viewers to speak out.
The Weeknd was seen in the video instructing a woman to “f**kin’ stretch that tiny little p***y” as she put her fingers in her mouth.
One viewer wrotw wrote: “The Weeknd is such a pervert omg.”
“I really need Abel to get dragged for this nasty scene in The Idol,” commented another.
“someone put the entire s*x scene from the idol and.. let’s just say I lost respect for the weeknd,” another user tweeted.
Despite the 33-year-old facing criticism for his portrayal, Depp on the other hand has been praised for being “frighteningly good” in spite of the material provided.
