Why Fans Are So Outraged

The following article contains spoilers for Euphoria season 3, episode 1, “Andale”.

It was essentially a guarantee that Euphoria season 3 would be divisive, and the long-anticipated premiere delivered tenfold. Ever since HBO’s dystopian teen drama premiered in 2019, the show has courted controversy, particularly for its explicit nudity and sexual content involving teenage characters. However, the series was also heavily praised for its emotional intensity and the strong performances of Euphoria‘s main cast, particularly the two-time Emmy-winning Zendaya as recovering teenage drug addict Rue Bennett.

Controversy for the show’s third installment started early, with Euphoria season 3 facing significant production delays for reasons ranging from the tragic (the deaths of Fezco actor Angus Cloud and executive producer Kevin Turen) to the scandalous (an alleged feud between series creator Sam Levinson and Zendaya). However, filming for season 3 commenced in February 2025, with the premiere airing on April 12, 2026, four years after the Euphoria season 2 finale in 2022.

The release of Euphoria‘s season 3 trailer was met with swift backlash. A five-year time jump sees the characters as young adults, with Rue owing money to drug lord Laurie (Martha Kelly), and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) trying to become internet-famous as an OnlyFans content creator. Many fans found the season 3 footage unrecognizable, both in terms of aesthetic and story, and feared that the edgy teen drama magic of the series was lost.

Unfortunately, the general consensus is that that’s exactly what happened. The new season received the worst reviews yet, earning a paltry 42% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. ScreenRant‘s Graeme Guttman dinged Euphoria season 3 for Levinson’s lack of grasp on the main characters. It’s a sentiment echoed by myriad fans, many of whom felt the season premiere went way too far.

Sydney Sweeney’s OnlyFans Storyline Has Been Labeled A “Humiliation Ritual”

This is by far the Euphoria season 3 storyline that has generated the fiercest backlash. In the premiere, Cassie is eager to have her dream wedding, and when Nate (Jacob Elordi) puts his foot down on the budget, she plans to come up with the money herself by making OnlyFans content, and it’s the way she goes about it that fans most objected to.

The episode sees Cassie sporting lingerie and canine accessories and provocatively behaving like a dog — wagging her tail, drinking water out of a bowl, and playing with a shoe in her mouth. Fan reaction went viral on social media, with multiple viewers referring to the storyline as a “humiliation ritual“. Other comments referred to it as “fetish central” or, simply, “gross.”

Fanning the flames of the controversy even more was the viral clip of upcoming Euphoria season 3 scenes released on the same day as the premiere. In it, Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie is seen engaging in ageplay, dressed as a baby with a pacifier and her hair in pigtails, spreading her legs wide.

This proved even more controversial than the doggie dress-up, resulting in moral outrage levied at both Sweeney and Sam Levinson. One incensed fan accused the ageplay of being “literally pedophilia,” while another stated, “I need someone to go through Sam Levinson’s hard drive.”

While the detractors appear to be the loud majority, others took to platforms like X, where a user reminded viewers that Euphoria is “a show that is all about sexual fetishes.” This viewer has a point that sexual content, particularly that which many find objectionable or “deviant” is nothing new for the series. It is also worth noting that ageplay, or paraphilic infantilism, is not considered to be pedophilia in professional psychology (via Science Direct).

Many also expressed concern that Sweeney is being exploited in these explicit storylines, but the actress has shared the eager role she has played in her character’s development multiple times. In a 2025 interview with Empire, Sweeney said, “Sam [Levinson] is such a brilliant filmmaker to work with, because I’ll read something, then I’ll call him, and I’m like, ‘Let’s go crazier.’ And he’s like, ‘I’m all in.’ And this season is unhinged.” It looks like Cassie’s waggly tail is just the beginning.

The Fate Of The Late Angus Cloud’s Fezco Was Not Well-Received

Credit: Eddy Chen / ©HBO / Courtesy Everett Collection

When Angus Cloud tragically passed away from an accidental drug overdose at the age of 25 in July 2023, it left a hole in the hearts of not only Euphoria‘s cast and crew but also its fans. This led to a lot of speculation and concern over how Fezco’s storyline would be handled in season 3.

Related

Angus Cloud, Star Of HBO’s Euphoria, Dies At 25

Angus Cloud, best known for his portrayal of the lovable drug dealer Fezco in the popular HBO series Euphoria, has passed away at the age of 25.

In the premiere, it’s revealed that Fezco is in prison, serving a 30-year sentence, presumably for his role in the violent SWAT shootout in the season 2 finale. Keeping Fezco alive in Euphoria was important for Sam Levinson, who was close with Cloud and actively tried to help him with his addiction struggles when he was alive.

On Fezco’s season 3 storyline, Levinson told Variety, “There’s a lot of scenes where people are talking to him on the phone. I thought, if I couldn’t keep him alive in life, then maybe within this show I could keep him alive.”

Given the sensitivity around the subject, fans had strong opinions about Fezco’s fate. Many took to X, sharing their belief that a lengthy prison sentence was “disrespectful” to both the actor and the character, and that Fezco deserved a “happy ending” instead.

There’s still the possibility of that happening later in Euphoria season 3. In the premiere, Rue gently chastises Lexi (Maude Apatow) for not calling Fez in prison, telling Lexi that Fezco misses her. Given Levinson’s quote about several scenes of characters talking to Fez on the phone, it’s possible that the character’s ultimate Euphoria outcome isn’t as grim as the season 3 premiere presented. And if there’s one thing fans can agree on, it’s that Fezco’s ending should be hopeful.

Fans Felt Zendaya Deserved Better Than Being Reduced To A Drug Mule

Though the Sydney Sweeney controversy has been by far the loudest, perhaps the most important is the discourse surrounding Zendaya’s Rue, Euphoria‘s protagonist and the beating heart of the entire show. Even before the premiere, fans expressed confusion and distaste for Rue’s season 3 drug mule storyline, with it playing like a somewhat bland crime drama not fitting with the character audiences had come to love.

This distaste escalated to pure rage over a particular sequence in the season 3 premiere that saw Rue, forced to work as a drug mule, swallow multiple lube-coated, golfball-sized drug balloons to “body pack” them across the United States-Mexico border. She recruits Faye (Chloe Cherry) to help her in this endeavor, and the results are as “disgusting” as the general social media consensus would have you believe.

One X user summed it up best when they said, “they got my girl zendaya swallowing balls of drugs with lube and then sh***ing them into a strainer that is then used to strain pasta for her and others to eat… there’s something seriously wrong with you sam levinson.“

While many fans can likely move on from the scene, as gratuitous as it was, what’s more upsetting for some is Rue being a drug mule, period. Even though the premiere found time to spark outrage over Cassie’s new enterprise and briefly catch up with Maddy (Alexa Demie) and Lexi’s burgeoning Hollywood careers, the vast majority of the episode was spent on Levinson’s bizarre Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas homage via Rue.

“Euphoria going from an edgy teen drama to a drug cartel western…? I’m confused” said another X user.

Fortunately, there is hope for Euphoria season 3, and for many fans, it rests entirely on Zendaya’s shoulders. Despite the overwhelmingly unpopular drug-running plot, fans were in general agreement that the actress was still riveting to watch. They gave praise to her performance in the premiere’s final scene, particularly her tearful, euphoric reaction to surviving a near-death experience.

Even with the polarized response to season 3, Zendaya is still the favorite to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series come September. And while Euphoria season 3 may strike a sour note with most audiences, Zendaya makes it worth watching, body packing and baby cosplaying or not.