The Drama co-stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson have set the internet abuzz with their highly conceptual, gender-bending new photoshoot promoting their latest film.
The two portray a seemingly blissful couple whose lives unravel in the week leading up to their wedding, in a story that reportedly shifts from a traditional romantic comedy into a psychological thriller.
Highlights
- Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s gender-bending Interview Magazine photoshoot sparked instant buzz online, and not for the reasons they expected.
- The retro, clown-like styling left many netizens unsettled, with critics calling the visuals “gross,” “eerie,” and even a “humiliation ritual.”
- The onscreen lovebirds also opened up about making the movie together and addressed the theme behind their now-controversial photoshoot.
While some praised the creative visuals, others had strong negative reactions, calling the imagery “unsettling,” “eerie,” and “extremely disturbing.”
“Part of the humiliation ritual process in Hollywood if you want to stay relevant,” one social media user wrote.
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson promote their new film The Drama with a gender-bending Interview Magazine photoshoot
Image credits: A24
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson teamed up for a cinematic photoshoot to promote their upcoming film, featured in Interview Magazine’s March 2026 issue, unveiled on February 17.
Titled Robert Pattinson and Zendaya Enter the Unknown, the spread captured the duo in a series of colorful images loosely inspired by the 1962 psychological thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
The images were captured by celebrity photographer Nadia Lee Cohen on a retro house set.
The shoot was styled by Law Roach for Zendaya and Mel Ottenberg for Pattinson, featuring a mix of luxury fashion and costume pieces.
On the cover, the two wore matching ivory lace-trimmed bodysuits by Chloé, while Pattinson paired his look with brown pants sourced from the costume rental house Palace Costume.
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
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The Twilight heartthrob was seen holding onto Zendaya as she posed curled around his back, with both staring directly into the camera.
Both stars wore matching clown-like white face makeup with a pale base, creating an eerie porcelain-doll effect, complete with bright red lipstick, intentionally smeared around Robert’s mouth.
It marks the first time Zendaya and Robert have shared the screen in a film, although they also have two other productions set to be released later this year
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
In other photos from the campaign, the two wore coordinated blue floral dresses, with Pattinson’s face scratched out as he crouched on one knee beside Zendaya.
They also opted for twinning black menswear-inspired suits, where the 29-year-old actress lay on the floor between Robert’s legs as he kept his gaze fixed on her face.
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
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While the bold aesthetic aimed to draw inspiration from 1960s and ’70s Hollywood as a marketing tool for their upcoming “dark rom-com,” directed by Kristoffer Borgli, it didn’t land the way the team likely intended online.
Many users criticized the visuals, with one writing, “Gross so terrible and ridiculous so not cool at all.”
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
Another commented, “Another humiliation ritual to show you who has sold their souls.”
“Oh wow Robert they got you to… He is gone, they made him dress like a woman,” added a third.
The March 2026 issue featured gender-bending, retro-inspired imagery, including Robert in a lace cami top, a floral dress, and bold red lips
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
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“Why is Robert Pattinson wearing women's clothes???” questioned one disappointed user, while another wrote, “Hollywood is weird lol.”
“I thought he was done embarrassing himself and was trying to be a real actor now.”
While The Drama marks Zendaya and Robert’s first-ever collaboration on screen, they will also be starring in two other films, The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three, both set to be released later this year.
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
The Interview Magazine cover story also served as the duo’s first promotion for the film, and Zendaya shared with the outlet, “This is our first interview, which is why it’s going to be all over the place, because it’s our first time trying to talk about making the movie, and the first interview is always so hard because I don’t know.”
The 39-year-old actor and Zendaya joked that the theme of the photoshoot was “I don’t know” in their accompanying cover interview
Image credits: Nadia Lee Cohen/Interview Magazine
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The actress also revealed that in her initial meetings with Pattinson, she found him “mysterious” due to his “pretty quiet and chill” demeanor.
However, her fiancé, Tom Holland, who worked with Robert in the 2020 film The Devil All the Time, told her, “No, he’s super fun and always laughing and joking.”
Image credits: zendaya
Zendaya added, “I was like, ‘Really? I haven’t experienced that side of him, I guess.’”
To this, Pattinson jokingly added, “That’s so depressing. I wish I could stay in the mysterious. I’ve learned again and again that if you just don’t speak, people are like, ‘Wow. You’re really intimidating,’ but I just can’t f**king maintain it.”
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He further described Zendaya as “a good example to the youth” and “a really nice” person and co-star.
Talking about their photoshoot, which has largely been labeled “extremely disturbing” online, Pattinson said, “They see this interview in combination with the photo shoot and it’s like, what are they talking about?”
As for the film, The Drama is scheduled for theatrical release on April 3, 2026, and also stars Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, and Zoë Winters in supporting roles.
“My brain trying to process Pattinson in a full glam wig and red lipstick: Error 404: Sparkly vampire not found. Please reboot,” joked one netizen
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