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Sydney Sweeney as Cassie in Season 3, Episode 5 of “Euphoria.” HBO<\/p>\n
In a strange, twisted way, this season of \u201cEuphoria\u201d is starting to feel a bit like art imitating life \u2014 particularly in the way the HBO drama is mirroring the public discourse that\u2019s surrounded Sydney Sweeney through her character, Cassie.<\/p>\n
For Sweeney\u2019s part, she\u2019s recently faced backlash after being branded a \u201cMAGA Barbie<\/a>\u201d amid a string of political controversies. There was last summer\u2019s American Eagle \u201cgreat jeans\/genes\u201d ad<\/a>, which drew praise from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance<\/a>. Not long after, it was also\u00a0revealed that she was registered as a Republican<\/a>.<\/p>\n Culture: Actor Lauren Weedman Was Diagnosed With Bell\u2019s Palsy. Then, Hollywood Showed Up In The Most Unexpected Way.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Now, it seems Sweeney\u2019s \u201cEuphoria\u201d character is echoing right-wing sentiments, too, in the latest installment of Season 3.<\/p>\n In Episode 5, \u201cThis Little Piggy,\u201d Cassie has officially plunged deep into the world of *** work to \u201cbring home the bacon\u201d after her husband, Nate (Jacob Elordi), has gone broke owing debts to a shady businessman. With help from her former bestie-turned-manager, Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie\u2019s ******** following starts to skyrocket, so she hits the podcast circuit hard to gain more exposure and male subscribers.<\/p>\n In one montage of her various podcast appearances, the blond bombshell proudly spouts off right-wing, tradwife-adjacent takes, declaring, \u201cI just feel like American men have been treated like second-class citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, men used to be hunters and gatherers and protectors,\u201d Cassie adds. \u201cNow, they\u2019re being forced to walk around on their tippy toes. It\u2019s not natural.\u201d<\/p>\n Culture: The New Trailer For \u2018The Odyssey\u2019 Is Causing A Lot Of Debate Online<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Then, \u201cEuphoria\u201d really takes it there.<\/p>\n During an appearance with a podcast host (played by Trisha Paytas), Cassie doubles down on the idea that modern men are being restricted by society, boldly noting, \u201cIf a man today were to say that he wants a girlfriend that could cook or clean, he might as well be screaming the N-word.\u201d<\/p>\n The visibly stunned host replies, \u201cWell, you sound like a Democrat,\u201d prompting Cassie to laugh dismissively before dropping the slur for someone with intellectual disabilities: \u201cI\u2019m not ********.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether these comments reflect Cassie\u2019s actual beliefs or are simply part of a calculated way to grow her ******** empire is unclear. But regardless, the strategy pays off, as Maddy informs her, \u201cYou know what\u2019s funny? The angrier these idiots get, the more money you make.\u201d<\/p>\n On social media, viewers weren\u2019t exactly shocked at Cassie\u2019s gall, seeing as though some can\u2019t tell where the character ends and Sweeney begins.<\/p>\n Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n In real life, Sweeney has managed to weather her politically charged scandals by hardly addressing them at all. Although she did directly respond to the American Eagle ad backlash late last year in a People<\/a> interview, in which she said she was \u201chonestly surprised by the reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did it because I love the jeans and love the brand,\u201d Sweeney told the outlet. \u201cI don\u2019t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n Culture: I Wanted To Hate ‘Gilmore Girls.’ Instead, I Questioned My Own Approach To Motherhood.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who knows me knows that I\u2019m always trying to bring people together. I\u2019m against hate and divisiveness,\u201d she continued. \u201cIn the past, my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press, but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it.\u201d<\/p>\n Cassie\u2019s ableist slur wasn\u2019t the only moment in Sunday\u2019s episode of \u201cEuphoria\u201d that left viewers floored. The HBO series has long been criticized for the way it hypersexualizes the character<\/a>, but Episode 5 takes it to the extreme with wildly explicit scenes starring Sweeney. One in particular shows her character going topless as a Godzilla-like monster as she interrupts a businessman in his skyscraper office jerking off to her ******** content.<\/p>\n This low-hanging fruit has, sadly, become par for the course this season of \u201cEuphoria,\u201d a sharp departure from the hit teen drama that made waves over its first two seasons before taking a yearslong hiatus<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far, Season 3 has been marked by abrupt story shifts, rage-baiting slurs<\/a> and a crime-driven Western theme that (spoiler alert) may have just killed off a major character<\/a> (at least that\u2019s what Episode 5\u2019s cliffhanger wants us to believe). <\/p>\n Where the Sam Levinson-created series goes from here is truly a mystery. But whatever happens next, you can probably bet it\u2019ll involve something deeply, deeply unsettling.<\/p>\n New episodes of \u201cEuphoria\u201d premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.<\/p>\n Related…<\/p>\n