Lily-Rose Depp and Sam Levinson collaborated on the highly controversial 2023 HBO series The Idol. During her appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, she recalled the most “upsetting” moment of starring in the sexed-up musical drama opposite The Weekend.
The actress revealed that the hate director and co-creator Sam Levinson received was hurtful, considering he was a friend of the filmmaker. “I think the thing that sucked about that was to have people talking s— about Sam, who is a great friend of mine and somebody that I consider family,” she told host Josh Horowitz.
Depp revealed that she’s extremely close friends with Levinson and his wife Ashley, who was also a producer on the show. She called them wonderful people who were kind enough to take her under their wing. Levinson took charge of the film after its original director, Amy Seimetz, departed the series in 2022.
An article released by Rolling Stone claimed that Levinson’s direction was allegedly criticized by 13 production members as the project underwent rewrites and reshoots.
The production members also claimed that the over-rehashing of scripts took a toll on the project and “weaken[ed] the show’s overarching message by dialing up the disturbing sexual content” to allegedly surpass the standards set by Euphoria.
In a statement released to Entertainment Weekly, Depp defended her friend, stating that she felt “seen, heard, and appreciated” on set and called Levinson the best director she’s ever worked with in her career.
“The only thing that was upsetting about that whole time period was people talking negatively about him,” she said.
The Voyagers actress also stated that the claims made against Levinson’s filmmaking approach couldn’t be further from the truth. “So that sucks. You just never want to hear people talking s— about your friend,” she added.
Depp is currently starring in Nosferatu, the horror drama directed by Robert Eggers, which also stars Bill Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, and Nicholas Hoult. The highly anticipated film follows “a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake,” as per the official synopsis.
Nosferatu will be released in theaters on January 10, 2025.
