The Weeknd Reacts to Backlash to His Sex Scenes in ‘The Idol’

The Weeknd has received some backlash over the sex scenes between himself and Lily-Rose Depp in their new series, The Idol. Now, the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has offered his reaction to the controversy. “There’s nothing sexy about it,” Tesfaye recently told GQ, then going on to explain that the works of filmmaker Paul Verhoeven was an inspiration for himself and The Idol co-creators Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim.

“When we use Basic Instinct , we’re using Verhoeven. Verhoeven is the king of ’90s satire thriller — yes, there’s moments of ‘sexy’ in his films but there are other moments that are very cheesy and hilarious,” Tesfaye explained. “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.”

Going on to offer some insight into his character Tedros, an enigmatic nightclub owner, Tesfaye said, “You look at him, and this is a score — Jocelyn might be the biggest score he’s ever had. It’s very obvious. He’s over-indulging, he walks into this house looking around like, ‘Goddamn, am I way over my head? This can be the biggest job I’ve ever done. Whatever it is that he’s doing.”

He added, “Even the sex, it’s so gluttonous. Especially in episode 2. ‘Gluttony’ is the only word I can think of [to describe it]. He can’t believe he’s there. He comes off like such a loser. Those moments are the humanity that you find in a psychopath, the chink in his armor.”

“With this show, we love to play with the emotions. We’re puppet-mastering your feelings through the show. It’s never a consistent tone, and that’s on purpose,” the singer-actor shared. “No matter how dark a scene is, you can find the comedy in it.”

In addition to Tesfaye and Depp, The Idol also stars Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, Jennie Ruby Jane, Moses Sumney, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Eli Roth, Rachel Sennott, Hari Nef, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Mike Dean, Ramsey, and Hank Azaria. Tesfaye, Levinson and Fahim also serve as executive produces alongside Kevin Turen, Ashley Levinson, Joe Epstein, Aaron L. Gilbert for BRON, and Sara E. White, in partnership with A24. All episodes of The Idol are directed by Levinson.