HBO’s “The Idol” has faced blinding criticism, notably for a string of raunchy sex scenes, with one major publication going to this point as to call the show “torture porn.”
But that’s nothing in comparison with the wrath of Selena Gomez fans, who, having now viewed the whole series, are declaring similarities between pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and the Disney-reared diva.
And, the “Only Murders within the Constructing” star’s fuming followers say, it’s Gomez’ ex-boyfriend, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye — co-creator of the show, alongside Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and Reza Fahim — that’s accountable.
Tesfaye and Gomez briefly dated in 2017. Armchair critics flocked to social media to broadcast their distress over discovering certain parallels between real life and the show, which aired its final episode on Sunday night.
“Ever since checking out the idol might be just the weeknd’s selena gomez fanfic i haven’t been capable of sleep,” one member of Team Gomez complained.
“The Weeknd is a nasty person. the comparison between jocelyn and selena is frightening and disrespectful. the idol lacks originality,” one other sniped.
The controversial drama series follows a broken Jocelyn as she develops a relationship with club owner, cult leader and self-help guru Tedros, played by Tesfaye. These are the uncanny moments fans imagine bear a resemblance to what Gomez went through.
Each were child actors
Each Jocelyn and Gomez began off their careers quite early. Gomez had her breakout role as Alex Russo on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
When a Vanity Fair reporter, Talia (Hari Nef), tells Jocelyn she grew up watching her on TV, Jocelyn responds with “That’s so sweet.” This brings out a comparison by fans to Gomez, who once told an interviewer “You’re so sweet” after they brought up her time on “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
Jocelyn also has an advanced relationship along with her mother
Just how troubled Jocelyn’s relationship along with her deceased mother is unclear, some Gomez fans are drawing parallels to the star’s mother, Mandy Teefey, who has publicly spoken of her disapproval of a few of her daughter’s decisions, equivalent to Gomez’ romantic relationship with singer Justin Bieber and dealing relationship with director Woody Allen.
“Nobody could make Selena do anything she doesn’t need to,” Gomez’s mother wrote in a 2018 Instagram post. “Nobody controls her. She makes all her own decisions. Irrespective of how hard you are trying to advise. It falls on deaf ears.”
Jocelyn also does a topless album cover
In one particular episode, Jocelyn fights to shoot a topless album cover. “It’s my body,” she insists.
Gomez did her own topless album cover for 2015’s “Revival,” a selection that was questioned by many critics and fans. She took to the radio on the time to say, “I’m not going to allow them to get to me.”
Jocelyn cancels her tour because of mental illness
Following the passing of her mother, Jocelyn cancels her tour for mental health reasons. A part of her team worries about her “having one other psychotic break,” while the opposite part claims “she was just exhausted.”
Gomez cancelled the previous couple of legs of her 2016 Revival world tour because of fighting her mental health following a lupus diagnosis. She also checked herself right into a psychiatric facility following an emotional breakdown.
Jocelyn has a controversial comeback shoot
In the identical album cover shoot featuring a topless Jocelyn, she’s also seen sporting a hospital bracelet. Her team says that showing off the bracelet will make her more relatable to fans.
Gomez’s return-to-the-limelight promotional photoshoot for her song “Bad Liar” included an image of her on a bed in lingerie and with a hospital bracelet on. Petra Collins, the photographer for the shoot, encouraged Gomez to go away the bracelet on.
“It was a really real moment,” Selena told MTV. “She thought it was beautiful … It was just exactly where I used to be emotionally.”
Jocelyn recorded moans for a song
Gomez released “Bad Liar” while in a relationship with The Weeknd — fans noticed the singer was moaning a few of the words, something they insist she did often while the pair were dating.
The Weeknd’s character in “The Idol” pushes Jocelyn to record real moans for a song while they were intimate in front of others.
Jocelyn’s assistant can be her best friend
Leia (Rachel Sennott) sticks by Jocelyn’s side to the very end. She is considered one of the one people near her that actually cares in regards to the star as an individual. The 2 also have a makeup line within the works they collaborate on.
Theresa Mingus, fans say, is Gomez’s Leia. As an alternative of a makeup line, Gomez promotes Mingus’s swimwear line, La Mariette, through photoshoots and Instagram posts.
Jocelyn doesn’t feel she’s being taken serious as an artist
Jocelyn confesses that she wants “to be taken seriously.” “I would like to have a profession that lasts and is gorgeous and isn’t a f–ing joke,” she tells her crew.
Gomez has publicly spoken about feeling she was stuck being a Disney kid — and that in consequence, her music wasn’t taken as seriously in comparison with other artists.
“It’s hard to maintain doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously,” Gomez told Vogue in 2021. “I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the purpose? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You to Love Me’ I felt was the very best song I’ve ever released, and for some people, it still wasn’t enough.”
