Euphoria Season 3: Inside Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney’s Alleged Feud
Euphoria season three is nearing launch, but the loudest drama is off set: a Daily Mail report says Zendaya is refusing joint press with Sydney Sweeney after filming wrapped this month, hinting at a rift between the once inseparable co-stars.
There is a new season of Euphoria on the way, but the chatter right now is not about Rue or Cassie. It is about whether Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney will even share a step-and-repeat. The short version: a tabloid report says Zendaya does not want to do joint press with Sweeney, and the reasons tie back to a messy ad campaign and politics. Here is how we got here.
The report: Zendaya and Sweeney avoiding joint press
According to the Daily Mail, Zendaya is refusing to do press calls for Euphoria season 3 alongside Sydney Sweeney. The timing is a bit fuzzy: the outlet says filming wrapped earlier this month, while other reporting had production finishing up back in February 2025. That could just be pickups versus principal photography, but either way, the show is aiming to premiere in spring 2026.
These two were openly supportive of each other early on. Now, the story goes, they are barely speaking. The Mail also frames Zendaya as being very conscious of her brand at this point, which, if true, would make red-carpet optics a real factor.
How an American Eagle ad turned into a political mess
The current rift traces back to Sydney Sweeney fronting an American Eagle campaign in July 2025 with the line: 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' It is a cheeky genes/jeans pun that turned into a firestorm, with critics accusing the spot of winking at white supremacist ideology. Then Donald Trump jumped in on Truth Social to hype it as the 'HOTTEST ad,' which poured gasoline on the discourse.
Sweeney did not apologize. In a GQ interview (via The Wrap), she kept it brief:
'I did a jean ad. The reaction was a surprise. When I have an issue I want to speak about, people will hear.'
Per the Daily Mail, that put Zendaya in a tough spot: even standing next to Sweeney on a red carpet could be read by some as tacitly endorsing Sweeney’s stance, or at least her refusal to walk the ad back. Fair or not, that is the PR reality.
The politics underneath
The ad controversy only landed as hard as it did because their politics have looked very different for years.
Zendaya has been openly anti-Trump. After the 2016 election she called his win heartbreaking, and in 2020 she posted 'vote this mfer out.' No ambiguity there.
Sweeney has been tied to Republican circles by association. Photos from her mom’s 60th birthday party in 2022 showed guests wearing MAGA-style hats. She pushed back at the time, saying it was an innocent family celebration and asking people to stop making assumptions.
- Zendaya: Consistently anti-Trump; called 2016 'heartbreaking' and in 2020 told followers to 'vote this mfer out.'
- Sydney Sweeney: Republican-adjacent optics; 2022 party with MAGA-style hats drew backlash; in 2025 she stood by the American Eagle campaign that Trump praised and declined to apologize.
What that means for Euphoria season 3
The new season moves the characters beyond high school. Zendaya has said she is interested in exploring what Rue’s sobriety looks like and how chaotic that might be. The main cast is back, and there are some headline-grabbing additions: Rosalia, Sharon Stone, and yes, Marshawn Lynch.
The promotional challenge is obvious: how do you roll out a season when your two biggest stars reportedly will not do press together? Neither Zendaya nor Sweeney has commented publicly on the rumor, and until they do, expect the speculation to keep humming.
If you want to catch up, Euphoria seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO Max. Season 3 is slated for spring 2026.