The Idol is being lampooned following the debut of its first episode.
Weeks after the new show first screened at the Cannes Film Festival, HBO dropped the buzzy drama’s first episode on Sunday (4 June), and in the UK on Sky Atlantic the next day.
The series, following a troubled rising pop star named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), is the new project from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.
In recent weeks, it has received criticism for its graphic content, and is currently one of the lowest-rated shows on Rotten Tomatoes. However, The Independent argued that the season premiere is a “profound insight into our times”.
Following the first episode, though, many viewers couldn’t help but notice – and send up – the amount of times Jocelyn lights up a cigarette.
But one scene that is making viewers particularly “mad” is when Depp’s character smokes in a sauna.
Find reactions to the moment below.
In March, Rolling Stone published an exposé featuring anonymous interviews with those who worked on the series. They alleged that Levinson and the show’s producers had taken the show “disgustingly off the rails” to create a drama “about a man who gets to abuse this woman and she loves it”.
The Idol continues Sundays on HBO and Sky Atlantic.
