“Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson says Sydney Sweeney urged the show not to “skirt around” nudity while playing Cassie Howard, an OnlyFans-style creator in Season 3. The comments arrive as critics have attacked the season’s sexual tone and plotting, and as the f
On the night “Euphoria” Season 3 aired its finale, Sydney Sweeney leaned into the controversy she’s now tied to in the public imagination: the character she plays, Cassie Howard, becomes an online sex worker, and Sweeney is at the center of the show’s most provocative moments.
In an interview published Monday. June 1. “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson described a blunt moment from production—one that. in his telling. shaped how far the series would go visually. Levinson. 41. said he initially wondered whether the team could shoot the story without nudity. imagining ways to avoid certain on-screen elements.
“Maybe we shoot all of all of this and we don’t have any nudity,” Levinson said. He then recalled that Sweeney pushed back hard on the idea of a safer path.
“She looked at me and she was like, ‘Are you kidding? I’m playing an OnlyFans model. You’re telling me you’re going to, like, skirt around it?’” Levinson said.
Levinson added that he views Sweeney’s approach as a mix of boldness and professionalism. describing her as fearless and consistently prepared. “She’s also just wonderfully professional and shows up just game every day,” he said. “I adore working with her because there’s such a flexibility in terms of the performance. There’s a lot of trust that we have.”.
The decision is now being read through a wider backlash that has followed Cassie’s Season 3 arc. Several critics panned the way the show depicted Cassie’s adult-content work after the season’s release in April. Belen Edwards of Mashable argued that the series’ portrayal—paired with backlash from Cassie’s loved ones—amounted to “over-sexualized humiliation gauntlet.” Edwards wrote that “Euphoria” “doesn’t interrogate these biases or examine the intricacies of sex work further. ” and instead “it’s happy to keep the shame coming. ” using Cassie’s aspirations to trigger “suggestive images designed to stir up the most controversy.”.
Another sharply worded take came from TV critic Kelly Lawler. who said the season is “oversexed and under plotted. ” with characters she described as “more Abercrombie cardboard cutouts than realized people.” She added that the actors are “simply dragged and squeezed into Levinson’s male gaze bacchanalia.”.
Even with those criticisms on the record, Levinson defended the sexual provocation of Cassie’s storyline. He told The New York Times that the show is portraying a character who wants affection and recognition, framing the content as tied to the mechanics of modern social media.
“She just wants to be loved. She wants to be adored,” Levinson said. He added that he sees Cassie’s online world as a “natural progression” of platforms like Instagram and other channels where people become a product—“you’re the product. you’re the brand.” He described the idea as “based around external validation.”.
Levinson also pointed to the specific environment the show is tackling: “Look. we’re tackling this world of OnlyFans where women are being paid to. like. whisper into an ear-shaped microphone.” He said the absurdity is part of the point. and that the team is trying to make the material feel “authentic and humorous and dramatic” while still reflecting “the larger wants and wishes of the character.”.
The season’s release and finale have also kept the conversation revolving around Sweeney herself. The source material notes that Sweeney could face legal trouble for a Hollywood sign stunt. describing how she posted footage showing her and a production team tossing hundreds of bras onto the Hollywood sign.
And the finale didn’t slow her momentum. On Sunday, May 31, Sweeney posted on Instagram several photos of Cassie’s “titillating looks from the season,” writing: “It’s called… acting,” as the caption.
Those details sit alongside the show’s most contentious creative decision: Sweeney, in Levinson’s account, insisted the production not “skirt around” nudity while playing an OnlyFans model—at the very moment the series was already drawing intense scrutiny for the way it portrays sex work on screen.
Euphoria Sydney Sweeney Sam Levinson Cassie Howard OnlyFans Season 3 nudity HBO The New York Times critics reviews Mashable Kelly Lawler
So basically they wanted to be as nude as possible? Cool cool. I’m sure that’s what everyone was clamoring for.
I don’t even watch Euphoria but the headline is like… how is this still controversial. Like, isn’t the whole point it’s supposed to be messy and sexual? Also if she’s playing an OnlyFans type character then yeah, they’re gonna show stuff. Unless they lied about the character or something.
Wait I’m confused—this says Sam Levinson wondered if they could shoot without nudity, then Sydney Sweeney pushed back. But that doesn’t mean the show actually used nudity all the time right? Like maybe they compromised? People act like it’s one big PR stunt but it sounds more like actors just doing the job.
I swear this show is like 10% plot and 90% people arguing about bodies. If she’s “fearless” and “professional” then why are critics acting like it’s some scandal? Seems like everyone just wants outrage. Also OnlyFans model comparisons are weird like Cassie is a character not a real person, but then they compare it anyway so idk.