Sydney Sweeney’s X-rated character arc in Euphoria’s third season was met with strong backlash upon airing, and now her boss is stepping in to address the drama.
Nearly three weeks after the finale aired, Euphoria creator Sam Levinson addressed the criticism over the controversial OnlyFans and sex work plotline of Sweeney’s character Cassie Howard.
On Friday’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, Levinson defended the storyline he brought to fruition and explained he was inspired by how OnlyFans has become a ‘massive enterprise.’
‘If you look at OnlyFans, it is making as much money as Hollywood. I mean, essentially it’s on par,’ Levinson said on the talk show while discussing his hit HBO series.
‘It’s not a niche business, it is a massive enterprise. And so if you’re young, you’re going … ‘I don’t want to go work in a nine to five at this place or that thing. Well, maybe I can just start taking photos of myself?”
He said he incorporated OnlyFans into Euphoria because he wanted to explore ‘the long-term consequences of that.’
Sydney Sweeney’s character arc in season three of Euphoria was met with harsh criticism since the first few episodes were released in April; seen in December 2025
Her character Cassie Howard delved into the world of sex work and OnlyFans in the latest and last season, and many of the X-rated scenes fueled widespread discourse among viewers
He continued musing about ‘what happens when, you know, as a young person, you’re on Instagram … and you’re told that you’re the product, you’re the brand, and now you’re 18 years old, and you’re going, ‘Well, how do I make money?’
‘And I just thought chasing that desire, that kind of fast cash, was an interesting thing to kind of explore,’ he recalled.
During the interview, Levinson acknowledged that he and the rest of the Euphoria cast and crew ‘caught a lot of criticism for’ Sweeney’s sex work scenes.
He then wondered if they would ‘get the same criticism’ if they actually ‘affirmed this life.’
‘You know, we take a fairly critical look at it. It hollows out the individual. You know, you’re constantly just depending on the likes and external validation,’ he said.
At one point, Maher noted Alexa Demie’s character Maddy Perez was the ‘moral center’ of the OnlyFans narrative.
‘I forget what the scene was, but she says, I guess to the other one … ‘Because I’m not a hooker,” Maher added. ‘And I feel like that said it all.’
‘She was managing the girls, which is an all new industry,’ Levinson responded. ‘It’s sort of light pimping.’
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson defended the storyline he penned for Sweeney’s character, but his comments came nearly three weeks after the finale aired on HBO; seen together in April
On Friday’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, Levinson defended the storyline. He said he incorporated OnlyFans into Euphoria because he wanted to explore ‘the long-term consequences of that’; seen in January
Levinson breaking his silence came on the heels of Sweeney defending her character and showing support for her OnlyFans narrative arc; seen in May
Levinson also explained how social media added another layer to the storyline and said he borrowed that from what he has observed in real life.
‘I mean, if you’re constantly taking photos of yourself and selling yourself online, it’s the natural evolution of it,’ he said.
During the chat, Levinson also talked about his decision to end Euphoria with season three as he said it felt like ‘a natural conclusion.’
His statement comes shortly after Sweeney revealed whether or not she would ever join OnlyFans while commenting on the backlash regarding her character turning to sex work in the show’s third and final season.
Previously, many viewers had slammed the plot and described many of Sweeney’s illicit scenes as a ‘humiliation ritual’ for her character.
In season three, Sweeney’s character was shown in nearly nude and increasingly revealing scenes while cosplaying sexual fantasies for her paying clients online.
Over the course of season three, Sweeney was shown in increasingly explicit scenes while performing sexual fantasies for her admirers online
Levinson noted that social media’s impact on society can be a catalyst for sex work online, especially in his fictional show. ‘I mean, if you’re constantly taking photos of yourself and selling yourself online, it’s the natural evolution of it,’ he explained; seen in May
In response, however, Sweeney showed support for her character’s story arc and declared: ‘I’m playing a character.’
‘She has a need to be validated by other people,’ she told Vanity Fair earlier this month.
‘She doesn’t know how to love herself unless someone else loves her,’ Sweeney continued. ‘So I understand how Sam got her to where she was in season three.
‘I think she was more excited by the idea of these people loving her and knowing who she is and feeling like her world isn’t small.’
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