Nearly three weeks after “Euphoria” wrapped up its run on HBO, creator Sam Levinson spoke out in support of one of the final season’s most controversial storylines.
As fans of the show well know, Sydney Sweeney, who played Cassie Howard on all three seasons of “Euphoria,” faced an immense amount of blowback this spring as her character embarked on an OnlyFans career (with the help of Alexa Demie’s Maddy Perez).
Yet, Levinson defended on Friday’s episode of “Real Time With Bill Maher” that this particular storyline felt timely, given OnlyFans is now “a massive enterprise.”
“If you look at Only Fans, it is making as much money as Hollywood. I mean, essentially it’s on par,” Levinson said. “It’s not a niche business, it is a massive enterprise. And so if you’re young, you’re going … ‘I don’t want to go work in a nine to five at this place or that thing. Well, maybe I can just start taking photos of myself?’”
As Levinson went on, he noted that he wanted to explore “the long-term consequences of that.”
“What happens when you know, as a young person, you’re on Instagram … and you’re told that you’re the product, you’re the brand, and now you’re 18 years old, and you’re going well, ‘How do I make money?’” he said. “And I just thought chasing that desire, that kind of fast cash, was an interesting thing to kind of explore.”
Levinson acknowledged that they “caught a lot of criticism for it,” but also wondered if they would “get the same criticism” if they actually “affirmed this life.”
“You know, we take a fairly critical look at it,” he noted. “It hollows out the individual. You know, you’re constantly just depending on the likes and external validation.”
Host Bill Maher appeared to co-sign this sentiment, noting that he was particularly impressed with Demie’s performance, calling her “the moral center” of the narrative.
“I forget what the scene was, but she says, I guess to the other one … ‘Because I’m not a hooker,” Maher added. “And I feel like that said it all.”
“She was managing the girls, which is an all new industry,” Levinson reminded Maher. “It’s sort of light pimping.”
Levinson explained that another layer to this whole situation is social media, adding, “I mean, if you’re constantly taking photos of yourself and selling yourself online, it’s the natural evolution of it.”
Elsewhere in the sit down, Levinson doubled down on his decision to end “Euphoria” with Season 3, noting it felt like “a natural conclusion.”
Seasons 1-3 of “Euphoria” are available to stream on HBO Max.
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