Why everyone is talking about The Idol, the controversial TV show that hasn't even come out yet.

The Idol has not even been released yet, but it's probably safe to go ahead and award it '2023's most controversial series'.

The upcoming HBO series was created by singer The Weeknd and Euphoria writer-director Sam Levinson. It's release date is June 4, but it has already been the subject of months of criticism.

The series stars Lily-Rose Depp as Jocelyn, a popstar who tries to reclaim her successful career after a nervous breakdown and begins a complicated relationship with Tedros, a self-help guru and the head of a contemporary cult, played by musician Abel Tesfaye, who recently announced he was scrapping his stage name The Weeknd.

The series, co-created and directed by Sam Levinson, also stars an ensemble cast including Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Eli Roth and Jennie Kim from K-pop group Blackpink.

Here's a rundown on all the controversy.

The Cannes Film Festival reaction.

The first two episodes of The Idol premiered on May 22 at the Cannes Film Festival, with the cast and Levinson appearing in France for the event.

The series reportedly received a five-minute standing ovation — which are almost a formality at the event — but immediate reactions from reporters and critics in the room were almost universally negative.

Among the negativity, New York Times' awards columnist Kyle Buchanan called it "a Pornhub-homepage odyssey". 

“The Idol,” or 50 SHADES OF TESFAYE: A Pornhub-homepage odyssey starring Lily Rose Depp’s areolas and The Weeknd’s greasy rat tail. Love that this will help launch the HBO Max rebrand, should slot nicely next to House Hunters!

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) May 22, 2023

The Idol convo in the theater. “I hated it.” “Garbage.” “I’m disgusted..” “She’s way better than I thought she’d be.”

— Tatiana Siegel (@TatianaSiegel27) May 22, 2023

Lots of strong reactions to #TheIdol out of #Cannes2023 — ranging from “I hated it” to “the TV version of clickbait” to “I don’t need to see any more of Lily-Rose Depp naked.”

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) May 22, 2023

Yeah, THE IDOL has the EUPHORIA vibes you might expect but it’s really more like somebody put BLACK SWAN, SUCCESSION, and SECRETARY in a blender and let it rip. Prepare yourself for quite the discourse… #cannes

— erickohn (@erickohn) May 22, 2023

After its review embargo lifted, The Idol debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a certifiably "rotten" nine per cent rating.  

Variety said the episodes involved "revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp's face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists and vile Hollywood sycophants". 

The Daily Beast labelled it 'Rape Culture: The Show', and called it a lazy, "big, expensive mess".

Rolling Stone, which published an expose into the show's behind-the-scenes drama in March, said it was "more toxic and way worse than you've heard".

The Idol's behind-the-scenes filming and production drama.

The first hint of drama surrounding this series came in April 2022, when Levinson took over directing duties from Amy Seimetz despite having filmed roughly 80 per cent of the six-episode show.

Reportedly, Tesfaye and Levinson decided it needed a new approach as under Seimetz it leaned too far into a "female perspective".

In March 2023, Rolling Stone published an article based on accounts from 13 anonymous cast and crew, who alleged the show features physical and sexual violence akin to "torture porn", and said the production was plagued by delays, reshoots and rewrites.

Insiders told the publication that with Seimetz gone, Levinson dialled up the disturbing sexual content and nudity, and turned it from a story about a popstar reclaiming her agency in a predatory industry, to an offensive love story.

"What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century," one source said. "It went from satire to the thing it was satirising."

Another called it a "rape fantasy", where Depp's character kept returning to a toxic man "because it makes her music better".

After the story was published, Tesfaye posted a clip from the show where his character mocks the magazine's relevancy, captioning it "Rolling Stone did we upset you?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd)

In a statement provided to the publication, Depp called Levinson "the best director" she'd ever worked with and said she never "felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued".

The cast deny the claims.

During a Cannes panel interview, Levinson said he knew they had made a "provocative" show, but the Rolling Stone article only confirmed his belief that he'd made "the biggest show of the [Northern hemisphere] summer".

According to Buchanan and other media present at the press conference, Levinson was asked how he created to sex scenes in the series without taking things too far.

"Sometimes, things that might be revolutionary are taken too far," he replied.

Sam Levinson, Lily Rose Depp and Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye at The Idol's photo call in Cannes. Image: Getty.

He also said the specific allegations in the story were "completely foreign" to him.

"My only slight grievance is they intentionally omitted anything that didn't fit their narrative. We've seen a lot of that recently," he said.

Depp also denied the article's claims.

"It's always a little sad and disheartening to see mean, false things said about someone you care about. It wasn’t reflective at all of my experience," she said.

Tesfaye said he wanted to "make a dark, twisted fantasy about the music industry", that would "make people laugh and piss some people off".

Feature image: Getty/HBO.