HBO’s Euphoria made its much-awaited return to television with season 3 after a four-year hiatus due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. It has already sparked backlash with a few scenes from the first episode.
The third season, which started airing on April 12, has been embroiled in controversy from the get-go, including a massive uproar over the depiction of female characters.
Highlights
- Sydney Sweeney’s 'Euphoria' character, Cassie Howard, is engaged to Jacob Elordi’s Nate Jacobs in season 3 and is creating adult content for social media.
- Netizens labeled her scenes a “humiliation ritual,” demanding answers from the show’s creator, Sam Levinson.
- Sweeney was already caught up in a controversy involving series lead Zendaya, who reportedly has been avoiding her over her “flirty” behavior with Tom Holland.
A couple of sequences featuring Sweeney’s character, Cassie Howard, have triggered significant outrage among audiences.
“How can Sydney Sweeney agree to do something like this?” one user said. “It's like a humiliation ritual.”
Sydney Sweeney’s character pretended to be a dog and a baby for adult content in Euphoria season 3
Image credits: HBO Max
The American teen drama, created and primarily written by Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya as the lead character, Rue Bennett, first premiered on June 16, 2019. It received widespread accolades, including multiple Emmy nominations.
Much of the second season, which premiered in 2022, revolved around Cassie betraying the trust of her best friend Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie, by dating the latter’s on-and-off ex-boyfriend, Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi.
Maddy’s confrontation with Cassie after finding out the truth became a viral meme on social media.
Image credits: HBO Max
In the third season, Cassie and Nate are living together and are set to marry in a lavish wedding ceremony in the near future.
Somewhat frustrated with her home-bound life, Cassie has started posting intimate content online. In the first episode, to film one such video, she puts on a brown corset and a dog-ear headband, and paints the tip of her nose like a puppy’s snout. She also has a collar around her neck, with a leash attached.
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Image credits: HBO Max
Nate catches Sweeney in the act, they argue about it, and Cassie proclaims that she is “not a pr*stitute.”
Nate then grabs the leash, pulls on it, and says, “You’ve been a bad, bad dog,” to which Cassie smiles and responds, “Woof, woof.”
In another scene, Sweeney dresses up like a baby in a pink onesie, her hair in pigtails, and a pacifier in her mouth. She holds up her toes with her hands, like infants often do.
On April 8, at the Los Angeles premiere of Euphoria, Sweeney spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and shared what her initial reaction was to Cassie’s arc in the third season.
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“I remember I called Sam [Levinson] and went, ‘Oh my god.’ It was just a big, huge exhale,” she said.
Despite the nature of her scenes, the actress told Variety in October 2025 that it was “comforting” to go back to the show’s set: “It’s mostly the same crew, so it feels like I’m going home to family. I’ve grown up with them. I was 20 when I did the pilot.”
Many viewers were furious over Sydney Sweeney’s explicit scenes
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A majority of fans disapproved of Sweeney’s scenes from the episode.
“This is literally disgusting,” a user said. “We all need to sit and have an intervention about Sam Levinson,” wrote another.
“Some scenes were clearly unnecessary and intended to humiliate her s*xually,” said a third.
“This whole TV show is a humiliation,” one more penned.
Image credits: HBO Max
A fifth commented: “Hard pass. Nothing about a man leashing a woman like a pet is ‘serving,’ it’s just sad and degrading. Cassie deserved so much better than this storyline.”
“Blame both: the writers for even putting it in, and her for saying yes,” read another comment.
However, several others pointed out that both Sweeney and Elordi were simply acting out a scene as part of their jobs.
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“Girl, it's called acting,” one person said. “Sydney's playing a messy character on a show that's always been wild and unhinged.”
Another wrote, “It’s her job, she chose to take this role, and gets paid to be the character.”
“You do realize that this isn’t real life? It’s just a script,” came another comment. A fourth tweeted, “This is exactly what many women like in bed, so what is the problem?”
The show’s controversies have previously gone beyond internet commentary.
Image credits: HBO Max
For instance, in 2022, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., released a statement after the show’s second season, criticizing the makers for “erroneously” depicting “destructive behaviors” among high school students.
Zendaya responded to it on Good Morning America by clarifying that Euphoria was “in no way a moral tale to teach people how to live their life or what they should be doing.”
Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya “barely” crossed paths for season 3, as per an insider
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Even before the season aired, the 28-year-old made headlines for her alleged feud with Zendaya, who reportedly refused to do press with Sweeney.
A source told The Sun UK that there were “tensions” between the two over Sweeney’s advances with Zendaya’s partner, Tom Holland.
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“Euphoria bosses are all too aware that the pair do not get on,” the insider said. “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 the set.”
That “did not go down well” with Zendaya, and they have avoided each other socially and professionally since then, as the source added: “Their paths barely crossed during the making of season three.”
Zendaya did not pose with Sweeney at the Los Angeles premiere but was spotted interacting with other cast members, including Hunter Schafer, who plays Jules Vaughn.
As of April 13, 2026, one episode of Euphoria Season 3 is officially out. There will be seven more, with new episodes released weekly on HBO and Max on Sundays until May 31, 2026.
"Weird Hollywood." The internet reacted to "cringe" Sydney Sweeney scenes from Euphoria season 3
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