Euphoria is returning after a four-year hiatus, and the controversial scenes are causing chaos.
Euphoria has been a trending topic of conversation since its release in 2019, with a star-studded cast including Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney. The soundtrack was also extremely popular, including music from Zendaya herself, accompanied by world-renowned musician Labrinth.
Sweeney has reprised her role as Cassie Howard, but in season 3, she’s focusing on her husband, Nate Jacobs (played by Elordi), and her new career as an OnlyFans model. However, a clip has been going viral showing Sweeney’s character in some risqué positions, including seemingly participating in age play, which is consensual role play in which someone acts a different age, most commonly younger.
Cassie is seen in the viral clip using a pacifier, wearing pigtails, and with her legs spread. Fans quickly reacted online to the viral clip, and it has caused a major divide across social media due to the controversy surrounding age play and what that entails.
Translation: “Sydney Sweeney in season 3 is literally just humiliating her. I don’t get how they don’t see that it’s not about this, her role is reduced to basically HUMILIATING HER, she’s not gonna win any awards like that. They dress her like a baby, pretending to be a baby with a pacifier for what? 🤮”
Fans were quick to question why the actress even signed up for these controversial scenes, as her popularity has greatly increased since season 2’s release. It was even a question about the creator, Sam Levinson, and his motives behind portraying the character Cassie in this light.
However, not everyone was opposed and even drew comparisons to other famous figures in Hollywood who had released similar images.
Translation: “They attack Sydney Sweeney for doing her job as an actress and playing a character. But they applaud, defend, and love Miley Cyrus who did something much worse (it wasn’t a character with social commentary behind it, it was for an empty music video). They only criticize her because it’s trendy to hate her.”
With the divisive scene already stirring some online discourse, Euphoria’s season 3 reviews are also being brought into question, as fans who have long-awaited the third season could end up disappointed. Season 3 is officially the lowest-rated season of the series, with a disappointing 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have stated that despite having “strong performances,” it contains “exploitative storylines that feel primed for internet outrage.”
Euphoria season 3 will be available to watch on HBO Max from April 12.
Release Date
2019 – 2026-00-00
Network
HBO
Showrunner
Sam Levinson
Hunter Schafer
Jules Vaughn