Zendaya ‘arrived late to Euphoria premiere to keep her distance’

Zendaya is said to have arrived an hour late to the Euphoria premiere in the ultimate ‘power move’ to keep her distance amid her feud with Sydney Sweeney.

While the rest of her co-stars were ‘long sat’ ready for the 7pm screening time, Zendaya, 29, apparently did not rock up until 8pm in a bid to avoid tension. 

Rumors of on-set drama have plagued much of the upcoming season, with inside sources claiming that Zendaya and Sweeney avoid each other ‘on and off’ set.

When the chance to celebrate the third series of the HBO hit came last week in the form of the screening, the atmosphere was notably frosty as Zendaya failed to pose with any other cast members.

In the latest episode of The Rest Is Entertainment, Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, discussed the ‘military style’ operation needed to gather the cast in one place, in particular Zendaya and her ‘MAGA Barbie’ co-star Sweeney.

Delving into the drama surrounding the release of the new season, they speculated over the reasons the three breakout stars from the show – Zendaya, Sweeney and Jacob Elordi – would have to returned to the series.

Hyde said: ‘I think they probably think it’s iconic and they owe it something and either HBO or Sam Levinson himself has been very persuasive. You might want to do other things on HBO, there’s lots of reasons.’

While Osman, mused: ‘Maybe they get on with each other and have happy memories?’

However, Hyde was quick to bring up the issue of tension between Zendaya and Sweeney. 

She said: ‘Maybe some of them do, some of them don’t. The red carpet for this thing… Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney. You’re not going to see those two in a picture.

‘Just reading about the red carpet made me laugh so much, because when you’re reading between the lines and you know how it works, you’re thinking… 

‘I can’t actually believe what military precision this must have been planned with, by all of their individual teams. 

‘The show was supposed to start at seven, as in everyone’s supposed to be in their seats and they were supposed to have the screening. 

‘I don’t think Zendaya turned up until eight, which is the ultimate power move like everyone else was long in their seats. 

‘There are two shots of some of them, but there’s supposed to be a big big beef between Zendaya and Sydney. Who knows where that’s true. But they’re certainly not in any pictures together. 

‘And when you look at it all you can see, oh, okay, so those two like each other. Those two. Yeah. And there were so many angles and plot lines just on that and who will arrive and in what order. 

‘It made a sort of Paris fashion show where eventually, you know, Rihanna will turn out like two hours late and then the show can start.’

At the Los Angeles premiere, fans were quick to point out apparent friction between co-stars Zendaya and Sweeney on the red carpet.

During the evening, Zendaya was filmed greeting her co-star Hunter Schafer, who have a well documented close, genuine real-life friendship.

She was also seen hugging the director, Levinson, before being rushed inside by her team without speaking to the gathered press. 

The move suggested to many that Zendaya, who has a packed schedule promoting The Drama and Dune: Part Three, has moved on from Euphoria.

Sweeney attended the screening with her boyfriend Scooter Braun, who faced major controversy primarily due to his 2019 acquisition of Big Machine Label Group, which included the master recordings of Taylor Swift.

She appeared friendly with fellow cast members, Alexa Demie, Schafer and Maude Apatow as they posed together on the red carpet.

However according to a Mail+ report, it wasn’t all friendly behind the scenes. Between pay differences and lists of demands, Sweeney had developed somewhat of a ‘difficult’ reputation among cast and crew on the Euphoria set. 

You can read all about the toxic on set atmosphere here.

Whispers of a feud have been long-standing between the pair, after it was alleged that Sydney had set her sights on Tom Holland – who Zendaya is said to have married earlier this year – as well as her polarising politics.

Social media was set alight with response to the alleged snub, as a video circulated showing Zendaya chatting warmly with Schafer, while ignoring Sydney. 

It was previously reported that Sydney had liked Twitter posts calling Tom ‘hot’ while sources claimed: ‘There were tensions way back. It was an open secret that Sydney had the hots for Tom and was flirty with him when he would come to set.’

Following the premiere, a slew of clips came to light, seemingly showing the duo actively avoiding each other after their long-standing woes.

One observer wrote: ‘Zendaya showed up and immediately got back in her car’, to which a fellow fan replied: ‘So she wasn’t playing about not doing press with sydney sweeney lmaoooo’.  

Commenting on the video, a fan wrote: ‘okay look at this, Zendaya greets Hunter, hugs her, and in the back Sydney who’s looking at Hunter but the moment Zendaya turns toward her she nervously looks away in another direction XD’.

It seemed the feud was not missed by many with another tweet reading: ‘Zendaya is seen seemingly ignoring Sydney Sweeney in this clip, & the internet is already connecting dots.’

The feud is said to have begun when Zendaya first started dating Tom and Sydney was seen liking posts about the Brit being: ‘Damn fine’, while insiders claimed Sydney was seen ‘being flirty’ with the Spider-Man star when he visited the Euphoria set. 

Sources previously said of the pair: ‘Euphoria bosses are all too aware the pair do not get on. There were tensions way back. It was an open secret that Sydney had the hots for Tom and was flirty with him when he would come to set.’

The viral red carpet moment prompted fans to recall Sydney’s previous activities, with users writing: ‘Rumors suggest it tied to Sydney’s controversial ad & liking posts in past about Tom Holland being hot…

‘Is this personal, or should professionalism come first? Sydney was liking thirst videos of Tom when Zendaya started dating him’. 

As well as the flirtation, Sydney’s well-known political views are said to have caused divide, due to her outspoken views – having earned the nickname ‘MAGA Barbie’.

In January, Sydney hit back against being pigeonholed as a ‘MAGA Barbie,’ months after her American Eagle campaign made her a lightning rod of political controversy.

Last summer she starred in a viral ad for the brand’s jeans, which provoked a social media meltdown as frenzied critics compared it to ‘Nazi propaganda’ for playing on the phrase ‘good genes’ with a blonde, blue-eyed star.

In the wake of the furore, reports emerged that Sweeney was a registered Republican, prompting howls of condemnation from left-leaning fans while US President Donald Trump joked: ‘Now I love her ad.’

By December she attracted hoots of derision over a talk-show appearance in which her makeover had given her a distinct resemblance to a retro Fox News hostess.

She later insisted: ‘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… 

‘And I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn,’ said the actress, who has been tagged by some as a refreshing antidote to political correctness and by others as a pernicious right-wing influence. 

The way she has been described in partisan terms is ‘somebody else assigning something to me, and I can’t control that,’ Sweeney said.

When she was asked why she refuses to straighten out the record if she feels she is being falsely portrayed, she replied: ‘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.’

She maintained: ‘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.’

One of her personal adages is that she has ‘always led with love. I’ve always believed that love is love in every single form. You should be kind to whoever you meet.’

She shared: ‘I remember on the set of Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, I watched Brad Pitt sit and hang out with the transpo department. I absolutely loved that, and I was like: “Yeah, you have to respect everybody in your life.”‘

Meanwhile she maintained that she has no intention of changing her mind and breaking her silence on the subject of her political convictions.