Sydney Sweeney has dismissed speculation surrounding alleged tensions within the Euphoria cast.
She said social media and the press have spun things far beyond reality as she addressed persistent rumours of a rift with co-star Zendaya during an interview with Vanity Fair as the final season of HBO’s Euphoria reaches audiences after years of delays and intense scrutiny.
The 28-year-old actress, who plays Cassie Howard in the hit drama, has spent recent years balancing Euphoria with a string of major projects including Anyone But You, Immaculate and The White Lotus creator Mike White’s upcoming projects.
Zendaya, who stars as Rue Bennett on the show, has meanwhile continued her rise as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars through the Dune films alongside Timothee Chalamet and her role as MJ in the Spider-Man franchise opposite fiance Tom Holland.
Rumours of friction between the pair have circulated online for several years, fuelled by speculation about politics, scheduling conflicts and unfounded claims regarding Tom.
Addressing the constant scrutiny around the cast, Sydney told Vanity Fair: “Well, I mean, we all grew up together on this show, so it’s honestly crazy to watch how much social media and the press spin things.”
She also responded to claims cast members’ schedules had contributed to delays surrounding production.
She added: “So the moment they say, ‘Hey, this is the first day of filming’, I’m legally not allowed to do anything else. So my schedule doesn’t affect the show.”
Sydney continued: “And so that was funny to watch everybody spin narratives on it. All of us were in first position, so it wasn’t like any of our schedules were holding it up.”
While Sydney did not directly address rumours involving Zendaya, speculation intensified among fans after she shared a gallery of behind-the-scenes images from Euphoria on Instagram which featured several cast members, including Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie and Eric Dane, who died earlier this year aged 52, but did not include Zendaya.
The omission prompted renewed discussion online, with some fans suggesting it reflected distance between them.
Additional rumours have focused on separate arrivals at promotional events and social media activity involving Tom, although neither Sydney nor Zendaya has publicly confirmed any personal disagreement.
Sydney also used the interview to address political labels that have followed her in recent years.
After previously being dubbed a “MAGA Barbie” by some online commentators, Sydney reiterated she does not wish to be defined through political narratives.
She said: “I’ve never been here to talk about politics. I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of.”
Sydney added: “I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn.”
She also spoke about the difficulty of correcting public assumptions.
She said: “I haven’t figured it out. I’m not a hateful person. If I say, ‘That’s not true’, they’ll come at me like, ‘You’re just saying that to look better’. There’s no winning. There’s never any winning.”
“I just have to continue being who I am, because I know who I am. I can’t make everyone love me. I know what I stand for,” she added.
Zendaya has previously spoken publicly about political issues and voting rights, including a 2020 social media post encouraging people to vote.
Euphoria, created by Sam Levinson, became one of HBO’s most talked-about dramas following its debut in 2019, helping launch Sydney and Zendaya to new levels of global fame.
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