He is one of Hollywood’s most talked-about writer-directors, known for pushing the boundaries with his storylines.
But creator Sam Levinson has faced growing criticism, with many accusing him of portraying women as ‘one-dimensional sex objects’ in his work.
His projects have frequently been described as steeped in the ‘male gaze,’ with an emphasis on explicit content, sexualisation, and the degradation of female characters.
From Euphoria to The Idol, the 41-year-old director’s signature style has focused on gritty visuals, provocative themes, and unflinching depictions of intimacy.
However, both of his series have drawn backlash, with critics branding them ‘sexual torture porn’.
Now, with Euphoria back for a third season, Levinson is once again under scrutiny, thanks to Sydney Sweeney’s ‘degrading’ OnlyFans storyline which has been described as a ‘humiliation ritual’.
Sam Levinson has faced growing criticism in recent weeks, with many accusing the director of portraying women as ‘one-dimensional sex objects’ in his work
With Euphoria back for a third season, the director is once again under scrutiny, thanks to Sydney Sweeney’s ‘degrading’ OnlyFans storyline described as a ‘humiliation ritual’
Since its inception in 2019, the show has been famed for breaking boundaries with graphic portrayals of teen drug use, sex and violence.
However, viewers have claimed that creator Levinson’s ‘disturbing’ and ‘misogynistic’ storylines for the new season have ‘lost the plot’.
In the latest season, fans were appalled by how far Sydney’s character, Cassie Howard, was willing to go, with her most X-rated scenes yet.
That first episode saw her dressed as a baby, while another scene had her dressed as a lingerie-clad dog.
Her character also went fully nude while posing for a series of provocative photos for her OnlyFans account, followed by a baseball-themed shoot where she wears just a nude thong.
Later on, Cassie portrays an ‘adult baby’ with her legs up in the air for the camera, while sucking on a dummy.
In the most recent episode, titled Kitty Likes to Dance, Cassie was seen sharing a steamy lesbian kiss after re-opening her OnlyFans account and snorting drugs off another woman’s genitals.
Viewers have claimed that creator Levinson’s ‘disturbing’ and ‘misogynistic’ storylines for the new season of Euphoria have ‘lost the plot’
In the latest season, fans were appalled by how far Sydney’s character, Cassie Howard, was willing to go, with her most X-rated scenes yet
Cassie also portrays an ‘adult baby’ with her legs up in the air for the camera, while sucking on a dummy
Fans called for the show to be cancelled after seeing the scenes
‘Somebody save Sydney Sweeney,’ one fan wrote on X, as many others called the scenes a ‘humiliation ritual.’
‘Please god i cant keep seeing cassie degrade herself in the most embarrassing ways imaginable,’ someone else added.
‘Sydney girlllll say no to some stuff,’ another fan pleaded.
‘How is Sydney even agreeing to do this season of Euphoria?’ someone else questioned.
‘Why would sydney agree to doing all that… weird.’
‘Seated for sydney sweeney to be typecasted the rest of her career.’
Fans were already taken aback by Cassie’s ‘puppy play’ exploits, which led to the show’s creator having to defend the scenes.
Levinson told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humour, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.
‘What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion – the gag is to jump out, to break the wall.’
Speaking about her character’s OnlyFans career at the season three premiere, Sydney told Entertainment Tonight: ‘I mean, Cassie’s a crazy character.’
‘She will do anything and at all costs to be famous this season, and she makes a lot of very wild and interesting choices,’ the actress said.
Levinson previously faced backlash for The Idol, starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd
Lily-Rose’s character received significant backlash for its intense, explicit, and highly sexualised content, with some critics labelling it ‘ torture porn’ and ‘luxury sleaze’
Following Sam’s recent work, critics have taken to X to accuse the director of sexualisng his female cast
Do explicit scenes in TV shows empower women’s stories or exploit them?
Levinson has also faced backlash for his work on The Idol, starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd.
The short-lived 2023 series centered on Jocelyn (Lily-Rose), a rising pop star attempting to reclaim her status as America’s ‘sexiest’ icon after a mental breakdown derailed her previous tour.
Lily-Rose’s character received significant backlash for its intense, explicit, and highly sexualised content, with some critics labelling it ‘torture porn’ and ‘luxury sleaze’.
As a result, the show was cancelled after season one.
Following Levinson recent work, critics have taken to X to accuse the director of reducing his female cast to ‘one-dimensional sex objects’.
They penned: ‘Sam Levinson despises women’, ‘The way Sam Levinson writes you can tell he hates women’,
‘Can sam levinson stop with the over the top sexualization for ONE second please’,
‘Does Sam Levinson know how to do anything other than sexualize/fetishize women??’,
‘It’s really disgusting to see how much sam levinson likes to sexualize the feminine cast’,
‘Euphoria is torture p3rn. It’s gruesome, brutal, disgusting and so painfully evident to me that Sam Levinson hates women. Women are all sex objects with no real depth, written by men. It hurts my soul to watch. So sick of the male gaze.’
Following the backlash from The Idol, Lily-Rose defended his work, telling E! News: ‘Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with.
‘Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued.
‘Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way – it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it.
‘He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.’
Sydney also told The Independent in 2022 that she never felt pushed into doing naked scenes, and said Levinson welcomed feedback.
‘There are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless, and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here.’ He was like, ‘Okay, we don’t need it,” she added.
In 2023, Sydney told Variety that she’d asked Levinson to amp up Cassie’s mania: ‘Give me more. I’m going to show you what I have. There’s so much to this girl.’
The director previously defended the explicit nature of his work, noting during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival: ‘We live in a very sexualized world. The influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of young people.’
Euphoria airs at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO on Sundays. In the UK, the series airs at 2am and 9pm on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and streams on HBO Max and Sky Go/NOW
