"I sacrificed my health and my home to make it."
The Weeknd has opened up about the struggles he faced producing his upcoming HBO series 'The Idol', describing the show's dramatic retooling as a 'challenge'.
The Idol series, set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month, follows aspiring pop singer Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), who develops a complicated relationship with self-help guru and cult leader Tedros ( The Weeknd).
"The Idol," which was created by The Weeknd, Tesfaye, Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson of "Euphoria," underwent radical changes in April 2022 after a rough edit of the series was completed.
These changes affected both cast and crew and resulted in the departure of director Amy Seimetz.
According to a new interview with The Weeknd in W Magazine, the singer was concerned that the dynamic between the cult character he plays and Jocelyn in the early scenes wasn't "as complicated" as they had envisioned it to be, which led to a "turn".
"Film and TV is a new creative muscle for me. I don't release my music until I believe it's perfect. Why should it be any different?” he said.
“My secret quality is that I don't panic. When everyone around me is worried, I am very calm. But I panicked when I lost my voice. I had to rest and think and think about The Weeknd and Tedros and everything that had happened with the series,” he explained.
“I realized that I need to know that I have done the best version of myself in whatever I do. It was a challenge to shoot 'The Idol' again and, to tell the truth, I sacrificed my health and my home to do it," he confessed.
“So let's say it's out there and it's awful. I know I did my best. From what I've seen, the series is great. Everything is a risk: When you've done your best, that's what I'd call a happy ending. And I got my voice back," The Weeknd said.
In a Rolling Stone report earlier this year, several anonymous sources claimed that Sam Levinson's script changes and reshoots added more nudity and disturbing sexual content to "The Idol," changing the show's message.
HBO issued a statement in response to the report, saying, "The initial approach to the series and the production of the first few episodes unfortunately did not meet HBO's standards, so we have chosen to make a change."
"The Idol" is scheduled to premiere on HBO on June 4, 2023.
