What controversy? Beaming Lily-Rose Depp joins co-star The Weeknd at The Idol photocall during Cannes Film Festival… despite show being blasted by critics for ‘graphic’ sex scenes
Lily-Rose Depp and co-star The Weeknd ignored the recent controversy surrounding their new HBO series The Idol on Tuesday as they atteneded a photocall during the Cannes Film Festival.
The daughter of Johnny Depp, 23, posed up a storm with the singer, 33, as they celebrated the release, despite the show being blasted by critics for its ‘graphic’ sex scenes.
The model and actress, who plays fictional up-and-coming pop star Jocelyn in the new series, put on a very leggy display in a plunging black mini dress, while boosting her height in matching heels.
Lily-Rose styled her golden locks in loose curls and opted to accentuate her stunning features with a dramatic smokey-eye make-up palette.
Meanwhile The Weeknd, aka Canadian Star Abel Tesfaye, looked typically stylish in a black leather jacket and boots.
What controversy? Lily-Rose Depp and co-star The Weeknd ignored the recent controversy surrounding their new HBO series The Idol on Tuesday as they atteneded a photocall during the Cannes Film Festival
Gorgeous: The daughter of Johnny Depp, 23, who plays fictional up-and-coming pop star Jocelyn in the new series, put on a very leggy display in a plunging black mini dress, while boosting her height in matching heels
Beaming: The pair couldn’t swipe the smiles off their face as they posed for fun snaps alongside Director Sam Levinson
The pair couldn’t swipe the smiles off their face as they posed for fun snaps alongside Director Sam Levinson.
The Idol received a red carpet reception worthy of any Hollywood blockbuster at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
The first two to three episodes of the HBO series were screened out of competition on the French Riviera.
And leading lady Lily-Rose Depp was on hand to drink in the applause as she made her way across the Croisette – just days after her father’s return to the acting fold was confirmed on the same promenade
It comes after their new HBO series The Idol has been panned after it premiered on Monday.
The show, which is set to begin airing June 4 on HBO, was a rare TV project to screen at the annual cinematic event in France, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
It is the story of ‘a rising pop idol’ named Jocelyn (Lily) as she enters into a ‘complicated relationship’ with ‘a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult’ and nightclub manager named Tedros (The Weeknd), according to a synopsis.
The Idol had already garnered controversy on the heels of a March report in Rolling Stone that dubbed it ‘torture porn’ and detailed a series of troubles amid production, citing multiple insiders.
And now, it has received a slew of mixed reviews The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye dubbed the forthcoming drama ‘more regressive than transgressive’.
The report noted how the network has sought to amplify the sex-fuelled debauchery in marketing the series, advertising it from ‘the gutters of Hollywood’ and the ‘sick & twisted minds’ of Levinson and the rapper.
Beauty: Lily-Rose styled her golden locks in loose curls and opted to accentuate her stunning features with a dramatic smokey-eye make-up palette
Looking good: She accessorised with a pair of stylish sunglasses
Handsome: Meanwhile The Weeknd, aka Canadian Star Abel Tesfaye, looked typically stylish in a black leather jacket and boots
Matching: He accessorised with a pair of cool shades to match his co-star Lily-Rose
Pals: Lily-Rose and The Weeknd shared a sweet hug when they first saw each other
Casual: Sam looked dapper in a grey blazer, teamed with a black top and matching trousers
Brutal: It comes after their new HBO series The Idol has been panned after it premiered at the 76th Film Festival
The show was described the show as ‘an older, even more stylized version of Euphoria’s second season,’ referencing another HBO series from Levinson.
A scene in which a music exec argued with a director to ‘stop c***blocking America,’ Gyarkye said, was indicative of ‘the show’s intention and puts a metaphorical hand up at incoming haters: Sex sells, and The Idol revels in that’.
The report noted that the scenes in the show are marked by Levinson’s ‘efficient and stylish direction’ and a variety of vibes.
‘Some of them have momentum, others are contradictory and most of them are confusing,’ Gyarkye said. ‘It makes you wonder if in trying so hard to be transgressive, the show ultimately becomes regressive.’
It referenced the gratuitous displays of nudity for Lily’s character Jocelyn, noting: ‘Rarely does a scene go by without the camera showing flashes of her breasts or a**.
‘You start to wonder if this is building to anything, and by episode two it seems likely that it’s probably not.’
A Variety report penned by Matt Donnelly and Zack Sharf noted that the show’s initial pair of episodes touch on seedy topics such as ‘revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists and vile Hollywood sycophants’.
The screenings were met with a ‘five-minute standing ovation,’ according to the publication.
Meanwhile, Deadline’s Damon Wise referenced the previous controversies over the series, noting that in a case of life imitating art, the crazy scenes surrounding the premiere would not have been out of place on the screen in a story that, at least as far as anyone could tell, is a satire on the sensation-saturated world of contemporary pop culture, where good is bad and bad is the bare minimum’.
The critic also described the series as ‘one part giallo, one part erotic thriller and thus two parts Brian De Palma,’ also drawing a comparison to Charles Manson.
The Los Angeles Times review, penned by Mary McNamara, noted that the series has ‘a similar penchant for graphic sex, cute clothes and self-destruction’ to Euphoria.
Mixed reviews: It comes after Lily’s new HBO series The Idol has been panned after it premiered at the 76th Film Festival on Monday, but her own performance was praised
Plot: It is the story of ‘a rising pop idol’ named Jocelyn (Lily) as she enters into a ‘complicated relationship’ with ‘leader of a modern-day cult’ Tedros (The Weeknd), according to a synopsis
It was described as ‘a, well, naked attempt to bring the TikTok generation back to cinemas with a tantalizing nepo-baby vibe, along with hints of scandal’.
However, Lily’s performance was commended by a number of critics, as THR’s Gyarkye called it ‘persuasive’.
Wise described it as a ‘highly sexualized performance … grounded and often vulnerable, discomfitingly addressing the fine lines between porn and art’ and ‘power and exploitation that have faced young women in the music industry for years’.
The cast of the series is rounded out by Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, Moses Sumney, Jane Adams, Dan Levy, Jennie Kim, Eli Roth, and Hank Azaria.
Centre stage: (L-R) Director Sam Levinson, Lily-Rose Depp and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye posed for photos as they made their way across the red carpet at the annual ceremony
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