Featured Image Credit: HBO
Topics: Film and TV, The Weeknd
Stewart Perrie
HBO's new series The Idol certainly has the internet talking.
The TV show centers on a pop star named Jocelyn (played by Lily-Rose Depp) and how she tries to continue with her music career following the death of her mother.
However, her big comeback appears to be in jeopardy after she meets Tedros (The Weeknd/Abel Tesfaye).
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We're only two episodes in and the show has garnered a lot of attention on social media.
The latest instalment had a sex scene that definitely set tongues wagging.
Tedros is seen fully-clothed while ordering Jocelyn, who is naked and wearing a blindfold, to fulfil his sexual fantasies as he watches her from afar.
At one point during their encounter he tells her to ‘f***in’ stretch that tiny, little p****'.
That’s probably enough to make even the ardent fans of the ‘Take My Breath’ singer slightly queasy at least.
Viewers took to Twitter to share their immediate thoughts and fans are saying that they will never be able to look at The Weeknd the same way again.
Another user complained: “He definitely gives me the ick after that episode.”
However, the actor at the center of the criticism has hit back.
The Weeknd explained to GQ that the scene was never meant to be appealing and in facts highlights the problem with his character.
“There’s nothing sexy about it,” Tesfaye said.
“However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters.
"It’s all those emotions adding up to: this guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here.”
The singer and actor said Tedros 'comes off like such a loser' in this scene and described him as a 'psychopath'.
He told GQ: "There’s nothing really mysterious or hypnotizing about him. And we did that on purpose with his look, his outfits, his hair — the guy’s a douchebag.
"You can tell he cares so much about what he looks like, and he thinks he looks good. But then you see these weird moments of him alone — he rehearses, he’s calculated."
The Idol made a huge splash when it premiered on TV screens around the world this month.
The first episode drew in 3.6 million viewers in the first week, which is higher than Euphoria and The White Lotus; two of HBO's biggest titles in recent years.