Sydney Sweeney's one demand to Euphoria creator about nude scenes as viewers call them 'humiliation ritual'
Sydney Sweeney had one rule for Euphoria creator Sam Levinson as he wrote up scenes for her controversial role in the final season of Euphoria.
The 28-year-old has been getting a lot of hate recently for her character Cassie Howard in the hit HBO series. So much so that after the final episode aired, she appeared to hit back at her critics with an Instagram post featuring behind-the-scenes snaps and the caption: "It’s called… acting."
Having played Cassie since 2019, Sweeney has been no stranger to partially nude scenes. However, ahead of the show’s finale on May 31, things began to get more and more risqué for the young actress, leading to fans to call out the scenes as ‘humiliation rituals’.
For example, some scenes her Euphoria character has been seen doing in season 3, is dress up like a baby, pretend to be a dog, have drugs placed somewhere intimate, become a giantess, and go topless with Richard Gere’s son.
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This all came from Cassie's OnlyFans career, which she began to pay for a truck load of wedding flowers when fiancé Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, couldn’t fork out the cash.
However, while people have been calling out Levinson for including the scenes in the show, it has been revealed that Sweeney had one demand for him – and he obliged.
In an interview with the New York Times, Levinson was asked about Sweeney and whether she was comfortable with the level of nudity her character was showing.
To this, he shared that she was adamant that nudity was supposed to be included.
“Well, it’s funny. When I first wrote it, I was like, ‘Maybe we shoot all of this and we don’t have any nudity. Maybe there’s ways to shoot around certain things?'”
Levinson explained: “And she looked at me and she was like, ‘Are you kidding? I’m playing an OnlyFans model. You’re telling me you’re going to, like, skirt around it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, that’s a fair point.'”
As for Sweeney, she has also explained her thoughts on nudity.
Despite a backlash regarding her portrayal of Cassie, Sweeney said during a 2022 interview with The Independent that it’s something she’s happy to do.
She said: "I'm very proud of my work in Euphoria. I thought it was a great performance. But no one talks about it because I got naked."
She said there’s ‘a stigma against actresses who get naked on screen,’ noting: "When a guy has a sex scene or shows his body, he still wins awards and gets praise.
"But the moment a girl does it, it's completely different."
As for how Sweeney's x-rated scenes were allowed to be broadcast before 10pm, this is thanks to one specific rule.
The loophole that allows Euphoria to broadcast explicit scenes before 10pm
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bans the broadcast of ‘indecent and profane content’ between 6am and 10pm.
Indecent content shows ‘sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive’, while profane content covers ‘"grossly offensive" language that is considered a public nuisance’.
So how is it that HBO can broadcast Euphoria scenes in which Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie rubs cocaine on her genitals and is seen topless multiple times at 9pm?
The simple loophole comes down to the fact that HBO is a cable channel, with the FCC explaining: “The same rules for indecency and profanity do not apply to cable, satellite TV and satellite radio because they are subscription services.”
HBO isn’t, however, allowed to broadcast ‘obscene’ content, which is banned at any time of the day and on cable.
The FCC explains: “For content to be ruled obscene, it must meet a three-pronged test established by the Supreme Court: It must appeal to an average person's prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a ‘patently offensive’ way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
On this point, it’s likely Euphoria is let off the hook because of its artistic value.
New episodes of Euphoria season three are available to stream on HBO Max, as well as Sky and Now TV.
Topics: HBO, Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria
Britt Jones