The Weekend wants his fans to know that he’s not at all upset about the negative reviews his new HBO series The Idol has received.
In an interview with Variety Published on Tuesday, Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, claimed it was “most likely” that the show would be criticized by critics and viewers alike.
The series currently holds a shocking 16 percent poor rating from the most prestigious critics polled by Rotten tomatoesand viewers have also criticized it on social media.
Much of the criticism was for The Weeknd’s acting chops, which there was a critic for Variety called “nonexistent” in a particularly busy headline, while other critics and viewers have complained that her show is “misogynistic” and equates to “torture porn” due to its graphic nudity and sex scenes, many of which feature Tesfaye’s costar Lily-Rose Depp .
Depp, 24, leads the series as pop star Jocelyn, while The Weeknd, 33, plays the Svengali-esque nightclub owner Tedros who takes control of her career.
Mentioned it: Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye claimed he was ‘very much expecting’ his HBO series The Idol to receive a lot of negative reviews and complaints from fans — which it has — in a new Variety interview; seen on May 23 in Cannes, France
Intended to do just that: “We’re playing with genres with this show, we’re doing exactly what we set out to do,” The Weeknd claimed. And none of this comes as a surprise. I’m excited for everyone to watch the rest of the show’; still for The Idol with his costar Lily-Rose Depp
However, the singer-songwriter has made it clear in previous interviews that the negative feeling his character evokes in many viewers is entirely intentional.
According to the superstar singer, he and co-creator and director Sam Levinson — who previously faced complaints that he fostered a “toxic workplace” on his other hit HBO series Euphoria — are producing the show just the way they want it to.
“We’re playing with genres with this show, we’re doing exactly what we set out to do,” The Weeknd claimed. And none of this comes as a surprise. I’m excited for everyone to watch the rest of the show.”
The interviewer asked him if the tone and pace of The Idol would change dramatically, as in Brian De Palma’s classic thriller films, including Dressed To Kill and Body Double.
Tesfaye didn’t clarify if they were onto anything, but he did confirm that “Brian De Palma is a huge inspiration for all of this,” adding that RoboCop, Basic Instinct and Total Recall filmmaker Paul Verhoeven is also an influence .
He added that he hoped The Idol would give viewers a different perspective on fame, though films that expose the less glamorous aspects of being superstar go back to the silent film era.
It’s almost instructive that this comes with being incredibly famous. You are surrounded by people who you are not sure of their true intentions, even if they appear to be good. You never know,” he said.
“But of course I’ve been lucky enough to have people around me that I’ve known almost my entire life, which is important and a gift.”
He added that there is “nothing worse than a yes man”, noting that Depp’s label boss in the series (played by Jane Adams) comes across as positive, despite having a negative attitude, because her word means something.
Looking ahead: Tesfaye added that he was influenced by thriller filmmakers Brian De Palms and Paul Verhoeven, suggesting The Idol’s tone and pace could change dramatically in the future; still from The Idol
Practically a public service: The Weeknd claims his show is “almost educational” and offers a different take on the darker aspects of fame; still from The Idol
Burnt out: Elsewhere, he explained that he lost his voice in the first 10 minutes of a September 2022 show because he spent hours filming The Idol the night before; seen on June 10 in Manchester, England
Elsewhere in the interview, Tesfaye explained that a show he was forced to cancel after just a few minutes in September may have been scuttled by the filming of The Idol.
He said that the night before his performance – the final of his tour – he had spent hours recording the series and that the tension caused him to lose his voice within the first 10 minutes of his performance.
However, he managed to schedule two makeup dates, including another show in Los Angeles and another in Toronto.
The Idol airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.