Abel Tesfaye knew The Idol would cause controversy long before it hit streamers, but he remains confident in his work regardless. Amid backlash over the show's troubling NSFW content, creators opted to end it one episode early. Following that, reports claimed that director Sam Levinson forced The Weeknd to film an unscripted sexual assault scene during their time together on set. Levinson also directs HBO's Euphoria, best known for its scandalous content which follows the lives of unhinged teenagers and young adults.
The "Angel" singer hasn't been shy about addressing the haters head on via Twitter. He's said that The Idol is an "almost educational" display of what up and coming starlets go through on their rise to fame. Even after the finale aired, Tesfaye continues to stir the pot with his responses to various negative reactions floating around online. "'The Idol' has permanently altered The Weeknd's image that now I can't even listen to his music 😭😭😭," one person tweeted this past weekend.
Read More: The Weeknd Reflects On “Bumpy Journey” After “The Idol” Finale Airs
The Weeknd is Bored of The Idol Criticism
On Monday (July 10) morning, the Toronto native cooly clapped back with an image of him in character as the super creepy cult leader, Tedros. The flamboyantly dressed man wears a judgemental expression on his face, proving that The Weeknd is growing tired of hearing the hate aimed at him. In the replies to that tweet, someone else pointed out, "Have you not heard his music??? Because it's the SAME." They added, "Models, drugs, super stars, fame, control, manipulation!!! You were never a fan" before urging the OP to "go back and listen to 'TRILOGY.'"
His HBO debut may not have gone over as anticipated with audiences, but The Weeknd continues to thrive elsewhere in his career. The Canadian kicked off his After Hours Til Dawn tour in the UK this month, and is already breaking records at stadiums in London. Read more about that at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Read More: The Weeknd Breaks Records With London “After Hours Til Dawn” Performance
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