After facing criticism over Cassie’s OnlyFans storyline, Euphoria continued to push boundaries in its latest episode, featuring more revealing scenes involving Sydney Sweeney’s character.
During the May 10 episode of the HBO drama, Cassie expanded her online following with help from Maddie, played by Alexa Demie, by creating increasingly provocative content for subscribers.
Some of the material was portrayed as less explicit, including Cassie recording seductive voice messages and appearing on podcasts to discuss support for men’s rights.
But other scenes showed her producing more adult-oriented content, including filming sexual videos, mailing used underwear to fans, and appearing topless once again. Some scenes even showed her masturbating on camera.
The storyline also focused on Cassie’s relationship with Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, who pressures her to continue making money online so he can deal with mounting debts.
Sydney Sweeney’s character prompts backlash
The episode quickly sparked strong reactions online, with many viewers describing it as “full-on insane.”
Although some real-life content creators criticized the way the series portrays online adult work, Sweeney has previously spoken about feeling empowered by playing Cassie and becoming more confident through the role.
Season three’s direction has divided audiences, particularly among OnlyFans creators who felt the depiction leaned too heavily into stereotypes of those actually working in the industry.
Series creator comes to the defence of show
However, series creator Sam Levinson defended the controversial scenes during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor,” Levinson explained.
He added: “But what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.”
Levinson said the intention was to create a layer of absurdity around the fantasy being shown onscreen.
“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,” he said. “The gag is to jump out, to break the wall.”
Director of photography Marcell Rév also discussed the visual approach behind the scenes, explaining that the production team intentionally avoided making the setting appear too polished.
“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 said.
He admitted adapting the visual style of OnlyFans content into the show’s cinematic aesthetic proved difficult, adding: “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.”
Despite the backlash, Levinson said the uncomfortable atmosphere was intentional.
“Some of these scenes we only lit with these ring lights that she would use,” he explained. “When you’re inside, it’s a beautiful, glowing front light, but then you jump out of it and it’s just a pool of light and everything surrounding it is dark. It’s just gnarly and jarring.”
He added: “We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it. But then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”
