Hollywood actress Zendaya reportedly got ‘frustrated’ with creator Sam Levinson due to the delay in the third season of Euphoria. The second season of the hit HBO show ended in February 2022. While fans have been waiting for the third season ever since, Sam ventured into the making of extremely controversial series, The Idol. Headlined by The Weeknd, the series did not take off like Euphoria did.
A source told The Hollywood Reporter that Zendaya is upset over the delay and even met with the executives at HBO to discuss the matter. She also allegedly isn’t happy over the toxic work environment allegations made against Sam and the team of The Idol that surfaced before the show premiered.
“As Levinson wound up spending far more time on The Idol than anticipated, Zendaya’s frustration grew. Levinson had not yet delivered scripts for Euphoria‘s third season — scripts that are still a work in progress more than two years after viewers watched the last episode of season two. Zendaya was so perturbed that she asked for a meeting with HBO’s Bloys and Orsi, demanding to know why the network allowed Levinson to turn his attention to another show — an HBO show, no less — with Euphoria hanging in the balance,” the report stated.
Insiders told the publication that things took a turn for the worse in March 2023, when the allegations about overbudget and toxic work environment on the sets of The Idol made the headlines. At the time, Rolling Stone reported crewmembers called The Idol “sexual torture porn” that featured “rape fantasy” of a “toxic man.”
“Zendaya had nothing to do with The Idol but was swept up in fan backlash for a project she hadn’t wanted Levinson to take on in the first place. Sources note that she was already a seasoned actress when she appeared in Euphoria at 22, and she closely tracks the mood on social media. ‘Her image is pristine,’ says an executive who has dealt with her. ‘And fans were turning against Sam,’ urging Zendaya to distance herself,” the report added.
With their relationship ‘curdled’, Zendaya, Sam and other heads of Euphoria met with HBO to ‘discuss creative issues’ and come to a solution. Unfortunately, they were all left disappointed. “They went from being so close, and they couldn’t fix it,” a source told THR. To top it off, Zendaya doesn’t want Ashley Levinson in the third season.
“With Turen gone, Zendaya is not the only person involved with the show to feel that way. Sources say Ashley is a very different proposition from Turen — more sharp-elbowed than conciliatory and, above all, fiercely protective of her husband,” the report stated.
A talent rep with a client in the show told the publication, “Sam needs somebody else beside Ashley. He needs a voice of reason, and Kevin was a genius at that. Sam really is a big talent, but he needs managing, and if you’re a spouse, it’s tough. He needs boundaries, he needs deadlines. It’s hard for a spouse to set limits. You’re setting yourself up for failure.”
On the other hand, Sam had blamed Zendaya for focusing on her film career instead of the show. While Zendaya and Sam feud, the rest of the cast is allegedly ready to make their return. With several twists and turns since 2023, sources close to the channel have said the writer-director and star are finally reaching to a common ground and have an ‘inkling of an idea that will work’. “Good luck to us. Who knows what the hell will happen,” a source working on the show said.
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