Children shouldn’t have to carry the burden of adult sexuality being thrown at them by corporations like HBO. HBO’s “Euphoria,” a damaging show for teenagers, is now being outdone by “The Idol.” Sam Levinson created both programs and HBO tasked Levinson to make “The Idol” like “Euphoria” on steroids.
HBO boasts that “The Idol” was created by “sick and twisted minds” to tell the “sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood.” TV critics blasted “The Idol,” citing it as “pornographic” and a “sordid male fantasy.” Predictably, “The Idol” shares a distorted view of love, putting the lead character, pop singer Jocelyn, in abusive sexual situations, painting them as standard.
Variety described one scene from the second episode: “Meanwhile, Jocelyn and Tedros are in the bedroom, where he is directing her to perform sexual acts on herself while he’s sitting in a chair, narrating his fantasy experience.”
The description continues, “The scene is filled with explicit nudity, sexual dialogue and some X-rated foley work. Meanwhile, there’s also an element of voyeurism when one of the cult followers, the mostly-nude pianist Chloe (Suzanna Son), gets stuck in the closet and watches Jocelyn and Tedros’ activities.”
In the third episode, Jocelyn shares that her mother abused her by beating her with a hairbrush. Tedros, her boyfriend and musical producer, suggests she use that trauma for inspiration and starts hitting her with a hairbrush. Whatever you want to call it, this is the depraved and dark material being promoted to children and teens, who already suffer from mental health issues exponentially. GQ summed up the point of the series so far, saying, “In ‘The Idol,’ the point is the pain.”
HBO is predictably marketing “The Idol” to youth on social media. Videos tagged with #theidol on TikTok, one of the most popular social media sites with tweens and teens, have racked up more than 1.2 billion views. More than 120 variations on that hashtag add up to millions more views. Even if children aren’t on social media, they can access “The Idol” on the MAX streaming platform. The streaming app has wide gaps in parental controls that enable children to watch “The Idol” and other explicit content.
As a society, we must protect children, which is why parents and families should be aware of “The Idol,” but also why the responsibility falls on entertainment companies like HBO to ensure children aren’t exposed to this content. Tragically, society denies children the chance to have an imaginative childhood by this unnecessary weight.
Some believe the premiere season of “The Idol” was cut short due to the bad reviews it received, but executives say the show was meant to end after five episodes. At this point, there haven’t been any confirmed season two plans.