HBO’s new talked-about series The Idol made waves far ahead of its premiere last Sunday. The series made a divisive debut at Cannes prior to its airing. However, news had already spread that the creators, Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) and Sam Levinson, creator of the equally provocative Euphoria, added much more raunchy sexual content to the show during production. As The Idol finally debuted, a big splash was made by its breakout star, Lily-Rose Depp, who takes part in some fairly uninhibited situations depicted in the show. Lily-Rose’s famous dad, Johnny Depp is not at all embarrassed by his daughter’s showcase according to The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail revealed that a source told them, “Johnny loves that Lily is carving out a career of her own and challenging herself to take on roles that interest her and test her. He loves that she is her own person and becoming her own actress. She isn’t resting her career on his success. He loves that she is such a strong person, especially now that she has gotten some extra attention with her recent role in The Idol. He is proud of her and not lending anything to the extra chatter and drama that the role brings. He believes that she must be doing something right since the role is getting so much attention, and he is proud of her success.”
Lily-Rose herself has not objected to filming any of the explicit content. She would also come to the defense of series creator Sam Levinson, who is under fire for being exploitive. “Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with,” Depp told E! News. “Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued. Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way – it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it. He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.”
The Idol is an exploration into the excess in the dark side of fame in the music industry, and provocativeness is a big part of the show. The 24-year-old actress flaunts her exposed body many times, makes very sexual gestures during the dancing scenes, displays a graphic masturbation sequence and partakes in scenes of sexual violence. And this is just the pilot.
You can read our review of The Idol here.