The Weeknd Fires Back at 'Rolling Stone' Report That His Show 'The Idol' Has Gone 'Disgustingly Off the Rails'

The Weeknd continues to break records.

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 claiming that the production of  is having issues, the show's stars, The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, and HBO are speaking out in defense of the project.On Wednesday, released a lengthy article claiming that the series — helmed by 's Sam Levinson — has «gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails» with regard to chaotic scheduling, going over budget and last-minute script changes and overhauls on graphically violent and sexual scenes.In response, The Weeknd — whose real name is Abel Tesfaye — shot back at the report, sharing a clip from the series, in which The Weeknd's character — a cult leader and self-help guru named Tedros — slams magazine for being «irrelevant.»The Weeknd threw additional shade in the caption, writing, "@rollingstone did we upset you?"A post shared by The Weeknd (@theweeknd) editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman replied to The Weeknd's message with two recent covers featuring the artist, writing, «Not at all!» Not at all! https://t.co/jKuDh7xAHQpic.twitter.com/TgLkYvsG9nIn the scene, Tedros is cozied up with pop star Joceyln (Lily-Rose Depp), as her publicist (Dan Levy) pitches the idea of Joceyln doing a photo shoot for the magazine."? Aren't they a little irrelevant?" Tedros asks, before pulling out his phone to look at their Instagram. " has six million followers on Instagram, half of them probably bots.

The forthcoming HBO show The Idol is said to be “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” according to its very own promo push from late last summer. And considering its creators — Euphori

HBO and stars Lily-Rose Depp and Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye are defending upcoming music industry drama "The Idol" after an article alleged its production under director Sam Levinson has gone "wildly, disgustingly off the rails" and has turned into "torture porn."  Director Amy Seimetz, of "The Girlfriend Experience," was originally hired to helm the drama before leaving after shooting 80% of the six-episode limited series, and Sam Levinson of "Euphoria" was brought in, according to Rolling Stone.The article claimed Tesfaye, who is a co-creator of the show, felt Seimetz was leaning too much into the "female perspective" of the story.  However, sources told Variety that the outlet's insiders had not seen the finished product, which still reportedly represents a "female perspective." Meanwhile, the streaming service told Fox News Digital in a statement, "The creators and producers of ‘The Idol’ have been working hard to create one of HBO’s most exciting and provocative original programs.The initial approach on the show and production of the early episodes, unfortunately, did not meet HBO standards so we chose to make a change." HBO continued, "Throughout the process, the creative team has been committed to creating a safe, collaborative, and mutually respectful working environment, and last year, the team made creative changes they felt were in the best interest of both the production and the cast and crew.

The Weeknd, lead actress Lily-Rose Depp and HBO have responded to new reported allegations that production of the upcoming series The Idol has been a “shitshow”, as one source put it.In a new report from Rolling Stone, 13 anonymous sources from the show’s cast and crew spoke on the production of the anticipated series. They allege that The Idol, which is expected to premiere sometime this year, has been plagued by delays, rewrites and reshoots that took a turn for the worse with Euphoria showrunner Sam Levinson at the helm.Tesfaye has since responded to Rolling Stone’s report by tagging the publication in a clip from the show on Twitter.

Shutting it down. The Weeknd fired back after Rolling Stone published a scathing report that claimed his upcoming HBO show, The Idol, has gone “off the rails.”

Ethan Shanfeld The Weeknd has responded to a report from Rolling Stone claiming that his upcoming HBO series “The Idol,” created with “Euphoria’s” Sam Levinson, has “gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails.” Posting a clip from the series to Instagram, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye tagged Rolling Stone and wrote, “Did we upset you?” In the scene, a character played by Dan Levy pitches Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp’s pop star character Jocelyn to do a photo shoot for the cover of Rolling Stone. Tesfaye, who plays a modern-day cult leader named Tedros, says, “Rolling Stone? Aren’t they a little irrelevant? … Rolling Stone has 6 million followers on Instagram, half of them probably bots. And Jocelyn has 78 million followers, all real I’d assume. So she does a photo shoot, she tags them, they get her followers. More money for Rolling Stone, nothing for Jocelyn.”

Rolling Stone story published Wednesday, many of the 13 anonymous sources claiming to be close to the project described the director’s scripts as including disturbing sexual and physically violent scenes between The Weeknd, 33, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, and Lily-Rose Depp, 23. “It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one anonymous source told the publication.The series follows Depp’s character, a pop star named Jocelyn, who meets a nightclub owner, Tedros (The Weeknd), who secretly happens to run a cult similar to NXIVM and Scientology.In one example, Levinson allegedly proposed a scene in which Jocelyn was reportedly expected to successfully place and carry an egg in her vagina.

Back in 2021, news first emerged that HBO had greenlit “The Idol”, an edgy satirical drama set within the Los Angeles music business, created by The Weeknd and “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson.

The Weeknd is unbothered by the reports.

The Idol is the most controversial show in town, and it doesn't even have a premiere date yet. But maybe that's how the creators like it.

So, uh, when is “The Idol” going to premiere on HBO? That’s a valid question to ask when you consider the first teaser was released months ago, followed fairly shortly by a second teaser. Alas, we don’t even have a release date or hint of a time frame outside of 2023.

The Weeknd is set to star in an as-yet-untitled feature film, which he also co-wrote and is co-producing. The film also stars Jenna Ortega of ‘Wednesday’ fame and Barry Keoghan, who recently appeared in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’.Co-written by Reza Fahim, Trey Edward Shults, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss, details of the film are currently being kept under wraps.

The Weeknd has landed his first starring role in a movie, which Oneohtrix Point Never will score.The film, which as yet is untitled, was co-written by the singer with director Trey Edward Shults and will also star Wednesday actor Jenna Ortega and The Banshees Of Inisherin‘s Barry Keoghan.It has also been confirmed that the movie will be soundtracked by Oneohtrix Point Never, who previously worked with Abel Tesfaye on his 2022 album ‘Dawn FM’ and remixed the title track.The Weeknd previously appeared in 2019’s Netflix movie Uncut Gems and he is set to appear in HBO series The Idol as a self-help guru, club owner and leader of a modern-day cult, who begins dating an up-and-coming pop artist played by Lily-Rose Depp. It was co-created with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.Meanwhile, Tesfaye recently shared a remix of his 2016 song ‘Die For You’, featuring new vocals from longtime collaborator Ariana Grande.The song first appeared on the tracklist of The Weeknd’s third studio album, ‘Starboy’.

The Weeknd is turning his talents towards the world of film.

Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is making his feature acting debut!

The Weeknd is quickly positioning himself as a rising media mogul. Still fresh off producing and co-wiring a new TV series that he'll star in later this year, the singer has followed the exact same blueprint for the big screen.The «Earned It» singer is set to star in his own yet-to-be-named film, which he also co-wrote (alongside Reza Fahim and Trey Edward Shults)  and produced.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye will have his first starring role in a feature film that he wrote and is also producing. The picture, which is currently untitled and has been kept shrouded in mystery regarding its plot, genre and the like is being directed by Trey Edward Shults, the filmmaker behind “Waves” and “It Comes at Night.” Shults also co-wrote the movie and is executive producing it. We do know that it is shooting in Los Angeles, but aside from that the “logline is being kept under wraps.” Whether comedy or tragedy, action adventure or musical extravaganza, this impressively vague feature has lined up a top shelf cast. Beyond The Weeknd, a Grammy-winning recording juggernaut, the film also stars Jenna Ortega, the star of “Wednesday” and “Scream VI,” as well as Barry Keoghan, the Oscar-nominated actor from “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.”

EXCLUSIVE: In what would mark is acting debut in a feature film, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is teaming with Trey Edward Shults on a new untitled film as he is set to star along with Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Shults will direct from a script he co-wrote with Tesfaye and his producing partner Reza Fahim. Tesfaye, Fahim, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss are producing with Shultz and Ortega exec producing.