{"id":726077,"date":"2026-04-13T23:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/726077\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T23:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:59:27","slug":"this-is-so-gross-euphoria-season-3-premiere-sparks-backlash-over-extreme-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/726077\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThis Is So Gross\u201d: Euphoria Season 3 Premiere Sparks Backlash Over Extreme Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

HBO\u2019s Euphoria<\/b> made its much-awaited return to television with season 3 <\/b>after a four-year hiatus due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes<\/b>. It has already sparked backlash<\/b> with a few scenes from the first episode.<\/p>\n

The third season<\/b>, which started airing on April 12<\/b>, has been embroiled in controversy from the get-go, including a massive uproar over the depiction of female characters.<\/p>\n

A couple of sequences featuring Sweeney\u2019s character, Cassie Howard<\/b>, have triggered significant outrage among audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can Sydney Sweeney agree to do something like this?\u201d one user said. \u201cIt\u2019s like a humiliation ritual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sydney Sweeney\u2019s character pretended to be a dog and a baby for adult content in Euphoria season 3\"\"<\/p>\n

Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

The American teen drama, created and primarily written by Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya as the lead character, Rue Bennett, first premiered on June 16, 2019. It received widespread accolades, including multiple Emmy nominations.<\/p>\n

Much of the second season, which premiered in 2022, revolved around Cassie<\/a> betraying the trust of her best friend Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie, by dating the latter\u2019s on-and-off ex-boyfriend, Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi.<\/p>\n

Maddy\u2019s confrontation with Cassie after finding out the truth became a viral meme on social media.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

In the third season<\/a>, Cassie and Nate are living together and are set to marry in a lavish wedding ceremony in the near future.<\/p>\n

Somewhat frustrated with her home-bound life, Cassie has started posting intimate content online. In the first episode, to film one such video, she puts on a brown corset and a dog-ear headband, and paints the tip of her nose like a puppy\u2019s snout. She also has a collar around her neck, with a leash attached.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: JLatifF<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

Nate catches Sweeney in the act<\/a>, they argue about it, and Cassie proclaims that she is \u201cnot a pr*stitute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate then grabs the leash, pulls on it, and says, \u201cYou\u2019ve been a bad, bad dog,\u201d to which Cassie smiles and responds, \u201cWoof, woof.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another scene, Sweeney<\/a> dresses up like a baby in a pink onesie, her hair in pigtails, and a pacifier in her mouth. She holds up her toes with her hands, like infants often do.<\/p>\n

On April 8, at the Los Angeles premiere of Euphoria, Sweeney spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and shared what her initial reaction was to Cassie\u2019s arc in the third season.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: _BeastRose<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember I called Sam [Levinson] and went, \u2018Oh my god.\u2019 It was just a big, huge exhale,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the nature of her scenes, the actress told Variety in October 2025 that it was \u201ccomforting\u201d to go back to the show\u2019s set: \u201cIt\u2019s mostly the same crew, so it feels like I\u2019m going home to family. I\u2019ve grown up with them. I was 20 when I did the pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many viewers were furious over Sydney Sweeney\u2019s explicit scenes\"\"<\/p>\n

Image credits: fantasizemafia<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

A majority of fans disapproved of Sweeney\u2019s scenes from the episode.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is literally disgusting,\u201d a user said. \u201cWe all need to sit and have an intervention about Sam Levinson,\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome scenes were clearly unnecessary and intended to humiliate her s*xually,\u201d said a third.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole TV show is a humiliation,\u201d one more penned.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

A fifth commented: \u201cHard pass. Nothing about a man leashing a woman like a pet is \u2018serving,\u2019 it\u2019s just sad and degrading. Cassie deserved so much better than this storyline.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlame both: the writers for even putting it in, and her for saying yes,\u201d read another comment.<\/p>\n

However, several others pointed out that both Sweeney and Elordi were simply acting out a scene as part of their jobs.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: gaiafatale<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGirl, it\u2019s called acting,\u201d one person said. \u201cSydney\u2019s playing a messy character on a show that\u2019s always been wild and unhinged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s her job, she chose to take this role, and gets paid to be the character.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do realize that this isn\u2019t real life? It\u2019s just a script,\u201d came another comment. A fourth tweeted, \u201cThis is exactly what many women like in bed, so what is the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s controversies<\/a> have previously gone beyond internet commentary.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

For instance, in 2022, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., released a statement after the show\u2019s second season, criticizing the makers<\/a> for \u201cerroneously\u201d depicting \u201cdestructive behaviors\u201d among high school students.<\/p>\n

Zendaya responded to it on Good Morning America by clarifying that Euphoria was \u201cin no way a moral tale to teach people how to live their life or what they should be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya \u201cbarely\u201d crossed paths for season 3, as per an insider\"\"<\/p>\n

Image credits: TrevorAllenMD<\/a><\/p>\n

Even before the season aired, the 28-year-old made headlines for her alleged feud<\/a> with Zendaya, who reportedly refused to do press with Sweeney.<\/p>\n

A source told The Sun UK that there were \u201ctensions\u201d between the two over Sweeney\u2019s advances with Zendaya\u2019s partner, Tom Holland.<\/p>\n

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Image credits: HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEuphoria bosses are all too aware that the pair do not get on,\u201d the insider said. \u201cThere were tensions way back. It was an open secret that Sydney had the hots for Tom and was flirty with him when he would come to the set.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cdid not go down well\u201d with Zendaya, and they have avoided each other socially and professionally since then, as the source added: \u201cTheir paths barely crossed during the making of season three.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zendaya did not pose with Sweeney at the Los Angeles premiere but was spotted interacting with other cast members, including Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules Vaughn.<\/p>\n

As of April 13, 2026, one episode of Euphoria Season 3 is officially out. There will be seven more, with new episodes released weekly on HBO and Max on Sundays until May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeird Hollywood.\u201d The internet reacted to \u201ccringe\u201d Sydney Sweeney scenes from Euphoria season 3\"\"<\/p>\n

Image credits: ShahFahmil<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image credits: trevor_daniles<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HBO\u2019s Euphoria made its much-awaited return to television with season 3 after a four-year hiatus due to the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":726078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[9],"tags":[300698,171,38469,5560,123843,276927,21218,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-726077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cassie-howard","tag-entertainment","tag-euphoria","tag-hbo","tag-image-credits","tag-sam-levinson","tag-sydney-sweeney","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116400120454247856","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}