A scene from the third season of HBO Max’s series “Euphoria” became quite controversial online after a fantasy scene featuring Sydney Sweeney garnered considerable attention.
In the episode, Sweeney portrays Cassie Howard, who has become famous for creating adult content with her partner, Maddy Perez. During the fantasy scene, Cassie grows in size and becomes as tall as characters from the movies Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and the Godzilla franchise; then she destroys parts of Los Angeles, all while helicopters surround her. The character Rue Bennett says, “She knew this was her destiny to triumph, to conquer, to win.”
Social media users have reacted negatively to the scene, with many calling it a “humiliation ritual”. As one user put it, “How many more fetishes can they fit into this show? This has to be a record.” Also, the show’s plot is now being viewed as drifting far from its original intentions. “They don’t talk about Rue’s addiction anymore, isn’t that why the show is called ‘Euphoria’?” one Twitter user asked.
The Euphoria creator, Sam Levinson, has received much criticism, with one Twitter user asking: “What the h— did Sam Levinson do to this series?” Another user commented saying: “Sam Levinson is making straight up f—— p–n and he needs to be stopped.”
However, the controversy occurs amid a wider discussion of the treatment of actresses in the movie industry. In a recent interview with The Independent, Sydney Sweeney described some of the criticism of her nudity. “I’m very proud of my work in Euphoria,” Sweeney said. “I thought it was a great performance. But no one talks about it because I got naked.” In turn, Sam Levinson defended her, saying that her acting was brilliant, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Euphoria Season 3 is currently airing on HBO Max.
