Lily-Rose Depp Doubles Down on Defending The Idol's Sex Scenes

Even before The Idol's public premiere on June 4, the project was mired in controversy. Its creators and stars had to defend both the plot and the behind-the-scenes scandal that saw Sam Levinson take over as showrunner from Amy Seimetz. And they're still at it.

In March, Rolling Stone published a scathing article calling the HBO series 'twisted torture porn' and expressing concerns about the show's production. And once fans got a chance to see the series for themselves, many echoed the outlet's sentiments, criticizing the oversexualization and disturbingly explicit scenes that felt unnecessary to the plot.

However, The Idol star Lily-Rose Depp, who participated in the majority of the graphic scenes and was the subject of the most concern from viewers, was adamant in defending Sam Levinson, co-creator Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye, and the show as a whole from the backlash.

'For something that does, of course, explore darker themes and has some pretty heavy emotional moments to it and everything, the vibe on set was quite lighthearted,' the actress told EW days before the show premiered.

Depp addressed the issue again in a recent interview with Vogue Australia, this time talking specifically about The Idol's shocking sexual content.

'We know that we're making something provocative and we are not shying away from that. That's something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning,' Lily-Rose shared. 'I was never interested in making something puritanical. It's okay if this show isn't for everyone and that's fine — I think all the best art is [polarizing]. I've never felt more respected and more safe on a set, honestly.'

The actress added that working with Sam Levinson was a huge opportunity and learning curve for her. The showrunner was able to create an atmosphere on set that made her feel comfortable and do her best work. Shooting nude scenes was a big part of that experience.

'When it comes to the nudity and the risqué nature of the role, that to me was really intentional,' Depp explained. 'That was really important to me and something that I was excited about doing. I'm not scared of it. I think we live in a highly sexualized world. I think that's an interesting thing to explore.'

Sources: Rolling Stone, EW, Vogue Australia.