The Idol Director Allegedly Laughed While Directing ‘Disturbing’ Rape Scene: 'I Own You'

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

More concerning details about behind-the-scenes on the set of The Idol have been revealed…

There’s been a lot of talk about what it was like to film the controversial HBO series over the past few months ever since an explosive report from Rolling Stone dropped in March about how things went “wildly, disgustingly off the rails” during production. Specifically, insiders claimed to the outlet that director Sam Levinson had added “disturbing sexual and physically violent scenes between Depp and Tesfaye’s characters” – including ones that played out like “rape fantasies” and “sexual torture porn.”

Despite the stars repeatedly denying the accusations, new claims have come out about Levinson’s actions on set of the show – and the details are truly troubling. According to Page Six on Friday, an insider revealed that there was a “non-consensual semen scene” that was shot and meant for last Sunday’s episode of the series. However, it ended up being cut.

The Weeknd, who portrays Tedros, and Lily-Rose Depp, who plays Jocelyn, were filming a sex scene in the bathroom of the singer’s home. At one point, the 38-year-old filmmaker gave a sudden direction for the scene that wasn’t originally in the script. The source claimed he “explicitly directed” The Weeknd to have Tedros “strangle” Jocelyn before ejaculating “inside her without her consent.”

The insider made it clear that the Blinding Lights artist himself “did not literally” ejaculate inside his co-star. But the pair “went along with Sam’s direction,” and Sam was allegedly “by the monitor, laughing and feeding lines to Abel’s character, like, ‘I own you.’”

What the f**k?! Allegedly laughing during this kind of traumatic and serious scene is beyond messed up. The Page Six source said many of those on set saw the scene as “extremely disturbing.”

As for why Sam pushed the sudden change of direction? Another source confirmed the troubling scene was filmed and “originally set up to lead to a pregnancy scare for Jocelyn and ultimately was cut because of storyline adjustments, which is a normal part of the creative process on a television series.” Defending Sam, they noted that he “does not take issues of consent lightly” and the team “was committed to creating a safe, collaborative and mutually respectful working environment on set, which included having an intimacy coordinator for various scenes.” Last time we checked, someone allegedly laughing during this kind of scene doesn’t exactly create a “safe” environment.

At this time, the show’s intimacy coordinator Mam Smith hasn’t responded to the accusations nor has Lily-Rose or The Weeknd. Meanwhile, Sam’s rep told Page Six he had “no comment.” A spokesperson for HBO then said:

“‘The Idol’ is a fictional show with flawed, fictional characters. The director and actors were all doing their jobs. It is a television series and therefore not real.”

What are your thoughts on the show, Perezcious readers? Do you think it’ll get picked up for a season 2 after all of these allegations? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image via MEGA/WENN, The Idol/Max]