The third and potentially final season of HBO’s bleak teen drama Euphoria pushes its characters into the gritty realities of the adult entertainment industry. However, the controversial storyline surrounding Sydney Sweeney and her character’s descent into OnlyFans has sparked a fierce backlash from real-life sex workers who are labelling the depiction as cartoonish and harmful.
According to creator Sam Levinson, this new chapter plunges the main cast into even darker territory. Rue (Zendaya) takes on a drug-smuggling role moving fentanyl across the Mexican border while moonlighting at a rundown strip club. Jules (Hunter Schafer) becomes a highly paid sugar baby for a plastic surgeon with a bizarre wrapping fetish. Meanwhile, Cassie (played by Sweeney) turns to OnlyFans to fund a $50,000 floral budget for her upcoming wedding to Nate, with her former friend Maddy (Alexa Demie) reluctantly stepping in as her manager.
A controversial depiction of content creation
Cassie’s foray into adult content is distinctly bizarre. She begins by posing as a dog wearing ears, a collar, a leash, wrist cuffs, a tail and a satin corset from Sweeney’s own SYRN lingerie line. She is even filmed bending over to lap water from a bowl. Later she dresses as an infant in a sheer pink top with pigtails and a baby rattle in her mouth. Adding a layer of dark comedy to the scenes is the fact that Nate and Cassie’s housekeeper Juana is the one tasked with taking these revealing photographs.
However, this storyline has deeply frustrated actual OnlyFans creators who already face intense public scrutiny. Sydney Leathers has been on the platform since 2017 and told Variety that the show’s portrayal is absurdly inaccurate. She pointed out that the age-play scenes where Cassie dresses as a baby violate strict platform rules dictated by credit card processors. OnlyFans’ terms of service explicitly ban any content depicting or role-playing the exploitation, abuse or harm of minors.
Maitland Ward is a former sitcom actress who now earns a living on OnlyFans. She found the baby costume particularly harmful to the community. Ward argued that such depictions reinforce the false and damaging stigma that sex work is inherently linked to abuse or trafficking. She felt the show turned a serious issue into a cheap joke and compared it to male writers simply acting out their bizarre Hollywood fantasies by dressing up a blonde woman in degrading outfits.
Levinson’s defence and marketing realities
Sam Levinson has defended his creative choices. He explained to The Hollywood Reporter that the absurdity of having a housekeeper film the content was meant to break the illusion of Cassie’s fantasy. He also highlighted the lighting choices where the flattering glow of a ring light was contrasted against a dark room to show the depressing reality of her situation.
One element of the show did ring true for some professionals. When Cassie attends a wild mansion party to collaborate with influencers and go viral, adult actress Alix Lynx noted that this is a genuinely smart marketing tactic. However, she criticised the show for suggesting that simply dressing up and looking attractive guarantees instant wealth. Real creators stress that building a dedicated fanbase takes significant time, effort and planning before successfully launching a paid page.
Ultimately, Euphoria’s handling of the subject plays into long-standing frustrations. As Leathers noted, sex workers are part of a marginalised community and are understandably sensitive to how Hollywood portrays them because the depictions are usually depressing, absurd and rarely accurate.
