BREAKING NEWS: The Weeknd Reflects on The Idol, Admits It ‘Could Have Been Told Differently’ .giang

The Weeknd is looking back on missteps made by his controversial series The Idol.

In a Variety profile published on Friday, Jan. 10, the Grammy winner — whose real name is Abel Tesfaye — gave several rare comments about his 2023 HBO series, which was slammed by critics and riddled with controversies even before it was released.

“I’m really proud of it — we all are,” said the musician, 34, who wrote and executive produced the series alongside Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, in addition to starring on the show. “We had a great cast and great crew. I made some really great friends, and I love seeing everybody thriving.”

The series followed a pop star, played by Lily-Rose Depp, who is trying to jumpstart a career comeback but enters a relationship with a powerful nightclub owner (The Weeknd) along the way. She then falls into his dark, sexualized cult in the process.

In April 2022, HBO shared that the series was being reworked, replacing former director Amy Seimetz with Levinson — even though a reported 80 percent had already been filmed, totaling $54 to $75 million in expenses. The following year, Rolling Stone reported that 13 unnamed members of the show’s cast and crew alleged that Levinson’s script changes included “disturbing sexual and physically violent scenes between Depp and Tesfaye’s characters,” with one crew member calling it a “rape fantasy.”

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“The creators and producers of The Idol have been working hard to create one of HBO’s most exciting and provocative original programs,” HBO wrote in a statement to PEOPLE in response to the accusations at the time.

Looking back on the experience, The Weeknd told Variety: “It’s unfortunate that, you know, it wasn’t met with the warmest [response], but we knew what we were making — something provocative and dark.”

“Maybe it could have been told in a different way, maybe not,” the star admitted to the outlet. “It was bigger than I expected. Not everything you put out is going to connect, and that’s fine.”

Despite the intense backlash to the series — which was canceled in August 2023 after only one season — The Weeknd revealed to Variety that the criticism didn’t “feel personal.”

“Of course, it gets to you — I’m not saying I wasn’t affected by it,” he told the magazine. “I’m saying I didn’t take it personally. Like, nobody’s out to get you, you know? I love reading criticism, even if some of it didn’t feel constructive.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair in November, Depp had similar reflections as her costar about the polarizing series. “I love it. Honestly, I love it,” she said of the show. “We always knew some people were not going to like it and that it was going to be too much for some people. But I stand by it. We made a choice and we went for it.”

With The Idol in the rearview, The Weeknd has turned his focus to his latest creative projects: Hurry Up Tomorrow, a new album out Jan. 24; a one-night show the following day; and a forthcoming self-written suspense-thriller film in which he stars opposite Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega and Saltburn lead Barry Keoghan.

“I’m not expecting everybody to love Hurry Up Tomorrow either,” The Weeknd told Variety. “Some people might hate it, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m doing it because I’m an artist — it’s how I feel, and this is what I want to say.”

The Idol can be streamed in full on Max.