The Weeknd says bad reviews for ‘The Idol’ make ‘a lot of sense’

The Weeknd gets why people didn’t idolize The Idol.

The musician (real name: Abel Tesfaye) reflected on his poorly received 2023 HBO series in a new interview, admitting that the negative reception to it “makes a lot of sense.”

“Pandemic happened, theaters are not a thing anymore at the time, television is the new god,” Tesfaye told The Guardian, noting that the project was originally intended to be a feature film, but the post-COVID landscape forced him and his co-creators, Reza Fahim and Euphoria mastermind Sam Levinson, to pivot to a different medium. The series’ five-episode structure, he suggested, left something to be desired: “It could have been great if it had a beginning, middle and end. It just ended on middle.”

He added that The Idol — which also starred Lily-Rose Depp, Suzanna Son, and Troye Sivan — suffered from a lack of passion from some of the cast and crew. “The best films have as much of a singular voice as possible, and everybody working on it cares about it just as much as the director and the actors,” he said, explaining that this wasn’t the case on his show. “People cared about it, for sure. But I think it got to a point where everyone was trying to get to the finish line. You can’t force something. You’ve just got to let it be whatever it is, even if it’s half-baked.”

Tesfaye was heavily involved in the show’s conception and execution — he starred in, co-wrote, and executive-produced every episode — but didn’t want to force his vision at every juncture during the creative process. “[Because] then I become ‘difficult,’ and the worst thing you can be called in Hollywood is difficult,” he said. “‘Difficult’ spreads!”

The artist was especially careful not to come off as a control freak or a diva since he had such little experience as an actor. “You’ve got to pay your dues,” he said. “But boy, did I pay my dues.”

Tesfaye expressed similar sentiments in a recent interview with The New York Times. “At that time, in my world, I had been seasoned, you know? I’d been able to control my work,” he said of his career leading up to The Idol. “But when you come into another house, you gotta take your shoes off and be respectful. And if you don’t take your shoes off, you are so easily labeled a tyrant, difficult.”

He reiterated that he consciously avoided behavior that would earn him that reputation. “And even though you’re looking at everything that is going on and it’s like, ‘I’m gonna have diarrhea right now because my instincts are saying things are off,’ you have to trust the professionals, the system,” he said. “You have to see it through to the end. It was unfortunate.”

Tesfaye also took responsibility for criticisms of the show’s depictions of abuse. “It’s completely my fault,” he said. “Look, being judged, shame, is not fun. But if you open yourself up, you have to expect it.”

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He followed up The Idol with his first feature film as a leading actor, Hurry Up Tomorrow, which is now playing in theaters. “This experience was really introspective and cathartic for me,” the musician told Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview. “From writing to production and through post — I realized just how much of a catalyst this art form can be for conversations about our emotions, mental health, and vulnerabilities.”

Tesfaye said director Trey Edward Shults and his costars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan helped him get over his nerves when he began work on the film. “I think when anyone starts a new project, there’s a fear of the unknown, especially when you’re stepping into a new medium,” he told EW. “Now that the film is complete, I feel incredibly lucky to have Trey, Jenna, and Barry with me. They were monumental in bringing this film to life in such a unique and special way.”