The Weeknd Slammed for Flippant Response to ‘Rolling Stone’s Explosive Report About ‘The Idol’

The Weeknd is facing backlash for his questionable response to Rolling Stone's report that his upcoming HBO series, The Idol, has "gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails."

In just one of many shocking revelations, the pop star was accused of toning down the show's original "female perspective" to place more focus on his character, who, according to Rolling Stone's report, appears to be a sexual predator.

On Wednesday (March 1), the same day the publication published its explosive exposé, the "Blinding Lights" singer clapped back at the allegations by sharing a clip from the show on Twitter.

"@RollingStone did we upset you?" he captioned the video, which shows his character on The Idol calling the magazine "irrelevant."

The Weeknd's flippant response didn't go unnoticed by Rolling Stone, whose editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman responded "Not at all!" alongside images of two of The Weeknd's Rolling Stone covers.

The singer most recently appeared on the esteemed music magazine's cover in 2020.

Rolling Stone entertainment reporter Cheyenne Roundtree, who wrote the report, also shared that The Weeknd "did not return a request for comment" when she was writing the story.

On social media, fans also slammed The Weeknd for his tweet, which seemed more like a snarky clapback toward a negative review versus a thoughtful response to alleged problematic behavior.

"You're pushing 40 acting like a kid because a magazine made an article about the toxic environment you enabled, be serious," one Twitter user wrote.

Others simply dragged the singer for his acting chops in the scene:

See more backlash, below:

Thirteen sources revealed shocking behind-the-scenes information about the making of the show to Rolling Stone.

One source close to The Idol, which is about "a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult [who] enters a complicated relationship with a rising pop idol," according to IMDb, described the production as "sexual torture porn."

Warning: Graphic sexual descriptions below

According to the magazine's report, controversial showrunner Sam Levinson allegedly included "disturbing" violent scenes that were not originally in the script, including one where The Weeknd's character assaults Lily-Rose Depp's character, getting an erection from the violence.

In another alleged, proposed scene, Lily-Rose Depp's character is asked to "carry an egg in her vagina, and if she [drops or cracks] the egg, [The Weeknd]'s character would refuse to 'rape' her."

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse or violence, help is available through the RAINN website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-656-4673.