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Celebrity Sightings In New York City - January 19, 2022

Source: Gotham / Getty

HBO Max’s drama series Euphoria is no stranger to intimate scenes onscreen. Particularly, one member from the cast urged the show’s creator that some levels of nudity were simply unnecessary.

Actress Sydney Sweeney, who portrays Cassie, has quite a few intimate scenes throughout the show. According to Sweeney, the script called for more nudity than she was comfortable with.

In an interview with the Independent, Sweeney spoke out about how creator Sam Levinson responded when she asked to cut some of her character’s topless scenes. She also disclosed why she believes critics overlooked her performance as Cassie in the first season because she often appeared naked onscreen.

“Sam is amazing,” said Sydney during the interview.

She goes on to detail that he was consistently receptive to her notes regarding unjustified nudity on Euphoria’s latest season.

“There are moments where Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here,'” she recalled. “He was like, ‘OK, we don’t need it.'”

Sweeney notes that her experience working with Levinson is far different from her past jobs.

“I’ve never felt like Sam has pushed it on me or was trying to get a nude scene into an HBO show. When I didn’t want to do it, he didn’t make me,” Sweeney said.

Despite how reasonable her requests may sound, Sweeney also shares that not all of her professional experiences have been as positive.

“I’ve had experiences where I want to go home and scrub myself completely raw because I feel disgusting … I didn’t feel comfortable with my cast mate or the crew, and I just didn’t feel like my character would be doing it,” Sweeney continued, acknowledging that in those scenarios, she “didn’t feel like [she] was able to speak up” and voice her concerns.

The 24 year old star appeared in other acclaimed dramas like The Handmaid’s Tale, Sharp Objects and most recently, The White Lotus.

She talks about the “stigma against actresses who get naked on screen” and how it persists in Hollywood.

“When a guy has a sex scene or shows his body, he still wins awards and gets praise. But the moment a girl does it, it’s completely different,” said Sweeney.

Sweeney recognized a noticeable shift in critics’ attitudes toward her work as an actor after appearing in HBO Max’s trending drama series The White Lotus last summer, which did not require any nudity.

“With The White Lotus, I felt like people were finally recognizing the hard work I’ve been doing,” she said. “This is something that has bothered me for a while.”

While the praise is recognized, Sweeney is still pleased with her work in Euphoria.

“I’m very proud of my work in Euphoria. I thought it was a great performance. But no one talks about it because I got naked,” Sydney shared. “I do The White Lotus and all of a sudden critics are paying attention. People are loving me. They’re going, ‘Oh my God, what’s she doing next?’ I was like, ‘Did you not see that in Euphoria? Did you not see that in The Handmaid’s Tale?'”

In other words, put some respect on Sydney Sweeney’s name.