The Weekend defended his “despicable” character on the highly controversial HBO series “The Idol” after a graphic sex scene left viewers horrified.
“There’s nothing sexy about it,” the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, told GQ Tuesday of the scene involving his character, a shady club mogul named Tedros.
“However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters. It’s all those emotions adding up to: this guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here.”
The scene in question features Tedros in an uncomfortably hot and heavy moment with struggling pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp.
At one point Tesfaye’s character told the pop icon to “f—kin’ stretch that tiny little p—y” while she put her fingers inside her mouth.
Abel Tesfaye, known as The Weeknd, is defending his sex scene in “The Idol” alongside co-star Lily-Rose Depp.The Weeknd
The “Blinding Lights” singer contended that the sex scene is portrayed in such a “gluttonous” way because Tedros, a mysterious club owner, “can’t believe he’s there.”
“You look at him, and this is a score — Jocelyn might be the biggest score he’s ever had. It’s very obvious,” he elaborated. “He’s over-indulging, he walks into this house looking around like, ‘Goddamn, am I way over my head? This can be the biggest job I’ve ever done.’”
While Tesfaye, 33, defended the sex scene’s graphic moments, the singer-turned-actor did agree that his character “comes off like such a loser.”
The singer-turned-actor contended that the sex scene is portrayed in such a “gluttonous” way because the character, Tedros, is “in way over his head.”The Weeknd
He explained that his character is intentionally portrayed as a “loser.”The Weeknd
“He’s despicable, a psychopath — why sugarcoat it?” the “Starboy” singer stated. “There’s nothing really mysterious or hypnotizing about him. And we did that on purpose with his look, his outfits, his hair — the guy’s a douchebag.”
Sunday evening, viewers immediately took to Twitter to slam Tesfaye after the lewd scene aired, with one user calling the actor a “pervert.”
Another user wrote that they had “lost respect” for Tesfaye after watching the episode.
Viewers slammed the scene and Tesfaye after the show aired on Sunday.The Weeknd
The second episode of Tesfaye’s show, which he co-created with “Euphoria’s” Sam Levinson, dropped in viewership by over 100,000 people.
Its June 4 premiere rang in at 913,000 viewers, but was later blasted by fans as “comically bad.”
