Sydney Sweeney Says Her Comments About Her Nude Scenes On “Euphoria” Got Twisted
There has been a lot of alleged behind-the-scenes drama with HBO’s high school series Euphoria. There’s been allegations of a “hellish” and “toxic“ work environment, excessively long shoot days, clashes between cast and creator Sam Levinson, and of course, the many conversations around the show’s frequent nudity. Several actresses from the show have spoken about Sam Levinson’s on-set requests for nude scenes, with some, like Minka Kelly and Chloe Cherry, expressing that they felt blindsided by the choice to have their characters go topless or fully nude. Sydney Sweeney has also spoken about Sam’s requests for an absence of clothing, but I shouldn’t count on her to provide a quote for that tell-all. Sydney would like to clarify the comments she made, and she’s expressed that her original thoughts were taken out of context.
Back in January, 24-year-old Sydney (who plays Cassie) spoke about the nudity on Euphoria. Cassie is no stranger to being naked in her scenes, and Sydney said that there was actually much more nudity planned by director, creator, and showrunner Sam Levinson, but that she pushed back against his requests for her character to be topless. Sydney recently spoke to Teen Vogue about that quote, and the message is a little different this time around. She says that she never asked that a scene be cut, and that Sam Levinson isn’t the creep some people took him for after hearing about all these stories of nudity requests. via Indie Wire:
“I never asked [‘Euphoria’ showrunner Sam Levinson] to cut any scenes,” Sweeney said, referring to headlines that misconstrued the story. “It got twisted and turned and it became its own beast, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
“It was more how respectful Sam is and how incredible of a director he is, that he would never make me do something I didn’t feel comfortable with,” Sweeney continued in the new interview, saying the nudity added to the realistic portrayal of her character, Cassie. “I think it’s important to the storyline and the character. There’s a purpose to what that character is going through. That’s the character. We all get naked in real life. We show this character’s life and what they’re going through. Cassie’s body is a different form of communication for her.”
Then Sydney decided to take a crack at analyzing the media, by implying that no matter what she says, a media outlet will always choose to run whatever narrative they want to push.
“No matter what I say, it’s never my words. There’s no context behind a conversation, like what you and I are having right now. People create their own narratives around a word or sentence that is said that is rewritten. Do I stand up for myself and then people don’t believe I’m standing up for myself, but [that I’m just] going back on words that I say? But really they were rewritten by someone else. Why do interviews when it’s not really our words?”
Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat on the show, also denied rumors that she was at odds with Sam by saying that the news cycle will pick up on anything and that fans will believe whatever narrative they want to believe.
Sydney is wrong though. It’s important to do interviews. It’s a time-honored Hollywood tradition to do an interview, and then shortly after do another interview where you accuse the first of taking your comments out of context. Besides, it also serves as material for a drinking game for all the gossips at home. Take a shot every time an actor on Euphoria looks tired and someone wonders how long the shoot day was. Take a shot if you think, “I know that scene wasn’t originally written with a bra in it” every time you see a bra.
Pic: INSTAR