The Weeknd is blasting Rolling Stone yet again.
In the “Starboy” singer’s June cover story in Vanity Fair, he addresses the music magazine’s March report detailing allegations of turmoil on the set of his upcoming show “The Idol”. Rolling Stone‘s story alleged delays, reshoots and a blown $54 million-plus budget contributed to the behind-the-scenes drama. They also called the HBO drama series “twisted ‘torture porn’” that had gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails.”
Hours after the story was published, The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, took to social media to upload a clip of himself as his “Idol” character, Tedros, ridiculing the magazine as irrelevant.
“I thought the article was ridiculous,” the actor tells Vanity Fair of the RS story. “I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”
Tesfaye adds that Rolling Stones‘ story was an indictment of his real-life character, specifically the questions of consent and misogyny that surrounded his work at the beginning of his career.
READ MORE: ‘The Idol’ Teaser: Lily-Rose Depp Is A ‘Nasty, Nasty, Bad Pop Girl’ In The Weeknd’s New HBO Series
Furthermore, he shares how he interpreted RS‘ subtext: “These are rapists trying to make a rape fantasy.”
The musician adds that his songs are nothing beyond an “adult, R-rated music” aesthetic, and that he’s “not responsible for how someone feels about my music.”
For our June TV issue, VF is at home with @theweeknd as he unpacks his enigmatic persona, his Hollywood ambitions, and the drama surrounding his new series, #TheIdol.
Read the full interview: https://t.co/IYHGcjt0wH pic.twitter.com/ItW9cHHYZH
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 16, 2023
Last month, the Weeknd also addressed Rolling Stone‘s report while chatting with Interview Magazine, calling the publication’s rumours “hurtful” to the people who’ve worked hard on “The Idol”.
Elsewhere, Tesfaye tells Vanity Fair that while Tedros’ “cultish inclinations related to sex, command, and trauma” may seem to align with his image as The Weeknd, he relates more to co-star Lily Rose Depp’s character Jocelyn, who contorts her experiences for art and fame.
“Tedros is that superego that we as men wanna stay away from as much as possible that’s inside of us and we just gotta kill that,” he explains. The actor, who co-created the series, notes that he wanted the show’s storyline to exist separately from his music, but still operate as an atmospheric extension of it.
READ MORE: The Weeknd Admits ‘I Didn’t Think I Had The Right Look’ For R&B At The Start Of His Career
“Jocelyn is a famous pop star…The people around her and her ethos and her community, they’re all inspired by things I know about the music industry,” he says.
“I’m not playing myself,” he reiterates. “But those characters can live in The Weeknd’s universe.”
Tesfaye’s June issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands on May 30.
