Fans convinced The Idol is based on Selena Gomez after noticing multiple similarities
Topics: Film and TV, HBO, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: HBO Entertainment LISA O'CONNOR/AFP/Getty Images
Topics: Film and TV, HBO, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez
After watching HBO’s gritty new drama, The Idol, viewers are convinced that they’ve figured out who the show is based on.
It’s after fans spotted several apparent similarities between the life of singer Selena Gomez and Jocelyn throughout the series.
Whilst those behind the show haven’t officially confirmed this, fans have certainly taken this theory and ran with it.
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Prior to writing the HBO series, The Weekend actually dated Gomez in 2017, with the couple later separating in October of the same year.
Fast forward a few years to June 2021, the ‘Blinding Light’ singer announces that he will be co-creating and writing The Idol under his real name, Abel Tesfaye.
Developing the X-rated series with Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, the plot centres around singer Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and her relationship with self-help guru Tedros (Tesfaye).
Right from the first episode, the women have a surprising number of apparent similarities, with Jocelyn trying to escape her former career as a child actor.
Gomez also rose to fame at a young age, appearing in Barney aged just 10 and then going on to become a global star thanks to Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place.
In fact, Jocelyn often expressed how frustrated she is that her early career overshadows her music and even tells Tedros in one scene: “I want to have a career that lasts, that isn’t a f**king joke.”
The line feels similar to a quote that Gomez had previously given in Vogue, with the ‘Same Old Love’ singer saying: “It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously.”
But, there's seemingly more where that came from.
And Jocelyn even wears a hospital bracelet on the cover, referring to the fact that she had to cancel a tour due to mental health reasons.
For those not in the known, Gomez did the same in her ‘Bad Liar’ music video and also cancelled her Revival tour as she struggled with depression and her lupus diagnosis.
She told People at the time that she had 'discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus' and thanked her fans for their support.
Even her music is seemingly evoked in the series, with Jocelyn moaning in one of her singles – just as Gomez did during ‘Bad Liar’.
Add to that they both ‘date’ The Weekend, with Jocelyn becoming infatuated with Tedros and you’ve got a pretty compelling argument for the theory.
Or perhaps it's all simply a mere coincidence.
However, we suggested you decide for yourselves when you next watch The Idol.
UNILAD has reached out to Gomez's reps for comment.