Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye Opens Up About His Controversial Sex Scenes in 'The Idol'
When I ask Abel Tesfaye if the sex scene in the latest episode of The Idol was supposed to feel “sexy,” to say that his resounding “no” was emphatic would be an understatement. Though it’s only been on for two weeks, the HBO series—in which Tesfaye portrays Tedros, a mysterious club owner trying to get his hooks into Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a vulnerable pop star—has already become something of a lightning rod for controversy and discourse. Is the sex, which across two hours has already flirted with everything from erotic asphyxiation to knife play, too graphic? Is it all provocative for provocation’s sake? Just what are Tesfaye, who co-created and co-wrote the show with his collaborator Reza Fahim and Chief Provocateur Sam Levinson, actually trying to do here?
Embodying the character of Tedros is Tesfaye’s bid to present a drastically different image of himself in pop culture than the one we usually associate with him as The Weeknd, the music persona who's re-made pop and R&B in his image for the last decade. The sleazy, seductive club owner—and maybe cult leader?—might have some viewers bemused, but as Tesfaye tells it, that’s the intention. Everything about the character, from his persona to his true motives, is being parceled out slowly across what Tesfaye describes as “a five-hour film,” to the point where he can’t identify a specific scene that he’s excited about as his first foray into acting. Instead, he encourages viewers to go along for the whole experience. GQ talked to Tesfaye, who's currently on tour in Copenhagen, over a short call to hear him out.
GQ: We’re two episodes in. How are you feeling about the response so far?
The Weeknd: I’m loving it. It’s definitely shaken up the culture for sure [laughs]. We knew we were making something dark and controversial but true to what we want to say.
Do you think the audience is engaging with it in the way that you intended?
I just think discussion is healthy, no matter what. To me it’s like, I’m just happy that there’s conversation. That’s important for anything I do, especially this new medium that I’m in.
Talk to me about creating Tedros. As this latest episode showed, it’s not a character that we’re gonna get the full picture of at once, but that we’re still learning about in pieces.
That was very important. When I’m trying to explain who he is, it’s tough without revealing too much, without peeling away too much of the layers. You try to be as mysterious as possible about who the character is so that you can take [the audience] on this journey. But piece by piece, week by week, we’ll reveal who he is. But he’s what you see on screen. He’s definitely a challenge. He’s despicable, a psychopath—why sugarcoat it? But he’s somehow useful to this girl, and it’s unfortunate and we hate to see it.
There’s an almost vampiric element to your performance in certain scenes and the way he’s shot.
Source: GQ
