“Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson is defending Sydney Sweeney’s shocking OnlyFans storyline after it caused a major uproar online.
Following Sunday’s Season 3 premiere — in which Sweeney’s character, Cassie Howard, debuts her new OnlyFans career — fans of the HBO series took to social media to call out the “disgusting” costumes the actress had to wear for it, including dressing up as both a baby and a dog.
“[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it,” Levinson told the Hollywood Reporter, explaining how production decided to approach the scene.
“What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion — the gag is to jump out, to break the wall.”
Levinson and Marcell Rév, the show’s director of photography, also gave the outlet a closer look at how they shot the controversial scene.
“An obvious choice would’ve been something modern and very plain and fancy, but we ended up choosing this mid-century home, which is a little tacky, but also stuck in the ‘70s,” Rév explained. “It’s probably a strange choice, but also it gives us possibilities.”
He continued, “OnlyFans has its own aesthetic and how you elevate that aesthetic to the show’s aesthetic is a challenge, I’m not going to lie.”
Levinson added that the “gnarly and jarring” lighting they chose was to show how “depressing” her career on the paid subscription site is.
Although Levinson takes pride in his creative choice, many viewers were left disturbed and were shocked that Sweeney would even agree to partake in it.
“Why did this girl accept the role?” one person tweeted. “I mean, you’re worth too much — why be a toy for people like that? Why humiliate yourself so much for a [show]?”
“Disgusting, who could ever look at this?” added another.
The show’s third and final season follows the main cast five years after high school as they navigate their early 20s.
Howard’s character on the show is currently gearing up to say “I do” to Jacob Elordi’s character, Nate Jacobs.
Her OnlyFans career was introduced to viewers in the first trailer for Season 3 of “Euphoria,” released in January.
It features Sweeney’s character dressed as a dog in a brown corset — which is from her own lingerie line, Syrn — paired with a tail and ears.
She wags her tail while straddling a doghouse in the clip, all before turning around and smiling at the camera.
New episodes of “Euphoria” are available for streaming Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.