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“The Idol” was met with an unfavorable response after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
In the upcoming series, co-created by Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, Lily-Rose Depp plays a troubled rising pop star who falls victim to a cult leader.
Tesfaye, best known by his stage name The Weeknd, plays the seductive but fearsome leader Tedros.
After its premiere Monday (May 22), “The Idol” received a five-minute standing ovation from the audience.
Despite the applause indicating widespread approval, less than a day later, the show has an average score of just 10 percent on popular review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Earlier in the day, The Idol had a Tomatometer rating of 20 percent on the platform, indicating a further drop.
Shortly after the screening, some critics condemned the show as “shameful” and compared it to pornography.
For months before its scheduled June release, The Idol was the subject of much discussion and controversy. Aside from requiring the project to undergo extensive reshoots, a March 13 Rolling Stone investigation cited unnamed sources from the production, who described chaotic set conditions and sex scenes that made them uncomfortable.
The film music of the idol on Rotten Tomatoes
(Rotten Tomatoes)
At a press conference in Cannes, Levinson defended the show’s use of nudity, calling its inclusion a “revolutionary” act.
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“We live in a very sexualized world. The influence of pornography on the psyche of young people is particularly pronounced in the USA. We see that in pop music,” he said.
“When you have a character who has a strong sense of self and a strong sexual self, you end up underestimating them.”
Levinson was obviously upbeat about the show’s reception, also quipping, “I think we’re about to have the biggest show of the summer.”
The Idol premieres June 4 on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK.