Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney mocks critics and marks finale with almost completely nude photo
Topics: Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria, Film and TV, Celebrity
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Topics: Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria, Film and TV, Celebrity
Sydney Sweeney has defended her controversial role in the final season of Euphoria after positing a series of racy behind-the-scenes snaps.
The 28-year-old rose to fame in 2019, when she was cast as Cassie Howard in the hit HBO series, which aired its finalé last night (May 31).
Since then, she’s landed huge roles in The White Lotus, The Handmaid's Tale and many more.
But Sweeney has received a lot of criticism for the portrayal of her character in this season of Euphoria, with many describing her scenes as 'degrading', suggesting it has simply 'gone too far'.
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Each week, fans were left in shock with Cassie's OnlyFans scenes, which she took to pay for her character Cassie’s expensive wedding to Nate, played by Jacob Elordi.
But yesterday, Sweeney took to Instagram to sign off from the role in true Cassie style, with a series of barely-there snaps from behind-the-scenes.
She captioned the post: "It's called...acting."
And many fans defended the actress, as one wrote: "Acted so good people are HATING."
'The best actor of this season', another added.
One image saw a BTS moment from the infamous dog scene, while another risqué image featured her with the snake that ultimately killed her husband, Nate.
And despite the hate she has received, there's at least one person firmly in her corner - boyfriend Scooter Braun.
During an appearance on Suzy Weiss’ Second Thought podcast, he shared rare details about their relationship and even admitted he’s become a huge fan of her work on-screen.
'I’ve met an extraordinary woman, kind and generous and smart, and real and down to earth,' he said.
When asked whether he’s tuning into the hit HBO drama, the former music manager added: "I am catching it. I’m biased, I like it. I think there’s been an incredible performance by a certain actress."
Despite dating in 2025, Sweeney seemingly hard-launched the relationship herself earlier last month, after posting a series of loved-up photos from Stagecoach Festival in California.
Creator of the show, Sam Levinson, has also defended Sweeney and her portrayal of Cassie.
As the backlash continued throughout the season, he spoke about Sweeney at a Q&A for The Hollywood Reporter’s Directors In Focus event, calling her 'brilliant'.
'What’s interesting is if you push it a little bit, she becomes brilliant,' he said.
The creator added: "You just do a few more takes, and she can reach these levels that are very honest emotionally, but also deeply funny.
“She’s able to anchor the scene with this kind of madness and chaos going on around her."
Euphoria season three is available on HBO Max now.