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HBO’s “The Idol” has faced blinding criticism, notably for a string of raunchy sex scenes, with one major publication going so far as to call the show “torture porn.”
But that’s nothing compared to the wrath of Selena Gomez’s fans, who are pointing out similarities between the show’s pop star protagonist, Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), and the Disney-reared diva.
And the “Only Murders in the Building” star’s fuming followers say it’s Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, whom Gomez briefly dated in 2017, who’s to blame.
Armchair critics flocked to social media to broadcast their distress over certain parallels between real life and the show, co-created by Tesfaye, Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”) and Reza Fahim, which aired its final episode on Sunday night.
“Ever since finding out the idol is probably just the weeknd’s selena gomez fanfic i haven’t been able to sleep,” one member of Team Gomez complained.
“The Weeknd is a nasty person. the comparison between jocelyn and selena is scary and disrespectful. the idol lacks originality,” another sniped.
The controversial show follows a broken Jocelyn as she develops a relationship with club owner, cult leader and self-help guru Tedros, played by Tesfaye. These are the uncanny moments fans believe bear a resemblance to what Gomez went through.
Jocelyn and Gomez were child actors
Both Gomez and the character Jocelyn started off their careers quite early. Gomez had her breakout role as Alex Russo on Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
When a Vanity Fair reporter, Talia (Hari Nef), tells Jocelyn she grew up watching her on TV, Jocelyn responds with “That is so sweet.” This prompted fans to compare her to Gomez, who once told an interviewer “You’re so sweet” when they brought up her time on the Disney Channel show.
Jocelyn has a complicated relationship with her mother
It’s unclear just how troubled Jocelyn’s relationship with her deceased mother is, but some Gomez fans are drawing parallels to the star’s conflicts with her mother, Mandy Teefey.
Teefey has publicly disapproved of some of her daughter’s decisions, such as Gomez’ romantic relationship with singer Justin Bieber and working relationship with director Woody Allen.
“No one can make Selena do anything she doesn’t want to,” Gomez’s mother wrote in a 2018 Instagram post. “No one controls her. She makes all her own decisions. No matter how hard you try to advise. It falls on deaf ears.”
Jocelyn does a topless album cover
In the series premiere, Jocelyn fights to pose topless during a photo shoot for her album cover. “It is my body,” she insists.
Gomez did her own topless album cover for 2015’s “Revival,” a choice that was questioned by many critics and fans. She took to the radio at the time to say, “I’m not going to let them get to me.”
Jocelyn cancels her tour due to mental illness
Following the passing of her mother, Jocelyn cancels her tour for mental health reasons and gets treatment at a hospital. When she comes back home, part of her team worries about her “having another psychotic break,” while the other part claims “she was just exhausted.”
Gomez canceled the last few legs of her 2016 “Revival” world tour due to struggling with her mental health following a lupus diagnosis. She also checked herself into a psychiatric facility following an emotional breakdown.
Jocelyn has a controversial comeback shoot
In the same album cover photo shoot, Jocelyn sports a hospital bracelet. Her team says that showing off the bracelet will make her more relatable to fans.
Gomez’s return-to-the-limelight promotional shoot for her song “Bad Liar” included a picture of her on a bed in lingerie and with a hospital bracelet on. Petra Collins, the photographer for the shoot, encouraged Gomez to leave the bracelet on.
“It was a very real moment,” Gomez told MTV. Collins “thought it was beautiful … It was just exactly where I was emotionally.”
Jocelyn records moans for a song
Gomez released “Bad Liar” while in a relationship with Tesfaye — and fans noticed she was moans some of the words, something they insist she did frequently in songs recorded while the pair were dating.
Tesfaye’s character in “The Idol” pushes Jocelyn to record real moans for a song by getting intimate together in front of others.
Jocelyn’s assistant is also her best friend
Leia, played by Rachel Sennott, sticks by Jocelyn’s side to the very end. She is one of the only people close to her that truly cares about the star as a person. The two also have a makeup line in the works they collaborate on.
Theresa Mingus, fans say, is Gomez’s Leia. Instead of a makeup line, Mingus has a swimwear line, La’Mariette, which Gomez models for and promotes through photo shoots and Instagram posts.
Jocelyn doesn’t feel she’s being treated as a serious artist
Jocelyn confesses that she wants “to be taken seriously.” “I want to have a career that lasts and is beautiful and isn’t a f–ing joke,” she tells her crew.
Gomez has publicly spoken about feeling she was stuck being a Disney kid — and that as a result, her music wasn’t taken as seriously as other artists’.
“It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously,” Gomez told Vogue in 2021. “I’ve had moments where I’ve been like, ‘What’s the point? Why do I keep doing this?’ ‘Lose You To Love Me’ I felt was the best song I’ve ever released, and for some people, it still wasn’t enough.”
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