Featured Image Credit: Brianna Bryson/WireImage
Topics: Euphoria, Film and TV
Kit Roberts
Megyn Kelly has accused Euphoria creator Sam Levinson of 'sexualizing infancy' following a controversial scene in the new season.
Euphoria, which has a stellar cast including Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney, follows a group of high school students as they navigate sex, love, mental health, and addiction, and has become known for its unflinching and sometimes uncomfortable approach to these topics.
But one scene in the third season has prompted a backlash from many who feel like it has crossed a line, including political commentator Kelly.
The latest instalment of the HBO show picks up five years after the conclusion of the second season, with the character now experiencing the realities of adult life.
Advert
Sweeney's character, Cassie Howard, has decided to start up an OnlyFans account, where she sells explicit content in a bid to raise money for her wedding to Nate Jacobs (Elordi).
And it's a scene from this plot line which been met with intense criticism from Kelly.
It shows Cassie filming content for her profile, however, she's dressed as a baby, wearing a baby-pink outfit, her hair in bunches, with a pacifier in her mouth and legs spread.
The scene, which was included in the trailer, has been heavily criticized by former Fox News anchor Kelly, who accused show runner Levinson of 'sexualizing infancy'.
In an episode of The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday (April 14), she said: “She’s dressed as a baby. She’s in a baby’s outfit, she’s sucking on a binkie, and her legs are completely spread. You can have a laugh, of course, because I shocked you, but the truth is this is sexualizing infancy. That’s what this is.”
Kelly also called Levinson 'sick' and accused him of 'injecting nudity' into scenes on the show, where it was not necessary for the story, with some critics even calling it a 'humiliation ritual'.
The response to the third season has been lukewarm, with Kelly being far from the only person to call out the seemingly intense sexualization.
It's also not the only scene in the new season featuring Sweeney which has been at the center of controversy.
Another sees her dressed as a puppy being held on a leash by Elordi's character, who tells her 'you've been a bad dog'.
For her part, Sweeney has not directly responded to the controversy, though she did tell Entertainment Tonight: “I mean, Cassie’s a crazy character.”
Meanwhile, speaking of the dog scene, Levinson told The Hollywood Reporter: “[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.
“What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion — the gag is to jump out, to break the wall.”
He added: “Some of these scenes we only lit with these ring lights that she would use... When you’re inside, it’s a beautiful, glowing front light, but then you jump out of it and it’s just a pool of light and everything surrounding it is dark. It’s just gnarly and jarring.
“We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it, but then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”
UNILAD has approached representatives of Sam Levinson for comment.