Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Euphoria’ return sparks backlash as fans slam ‘humiliating’ storyline

"Euphoria" ignited a firestorm after the season three opener aired Sunday, as viewers questioned Sydney Sweeney’s storyline and denounced the show’s creative direction.

Fans were quick to claim the award-winning HBO show was "humiliating" Sweeney, who stars as Cassie Howard. After nearly a five-year hiatus, "Euphoria" returned Sunday with Sweeney's character set to marry boyfriend Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi. In her opening scene, Sweeney is dressed up in a revealing dog costume filming provocative videos seemingly for social media. Sweeney barked like a dog and even drank water on all fours while wearing the revealing bodysuit.

While the two struggle to make ends meet, Sweeney's character eventually floated the idea of beginning an OnlyFans account.

Sweeney's storyline didn't sit right with fans, who have watched the actress undergo similar demeaning character arcs in seasons one and two.

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"Sydney Sweeney in season 3 is literally just humiliating her. I don't get how they don't see that it's not about this, her role is reduced to basically HUMILIATING HER, she's not gonna win any awards like that," one user wrote on X, before referencing a future scene. "They dress her like a baby, pretending to be a baby with a pacifier for what?"

"I thought it was AI but it's real, my God, what did they do to Sydney Sweeney in the third season of Euphoria?" another added.

"This is so embarrassing even for jacob," a user wrote about Sweeney and her co-star. "But, how Sydney sweeney can agree to do something like this? It's like a humillation [sic] ritual."

"At this stage in her career I'm amazed they get Sydney to do this," another user added. "She's a true nymphomaniac attention w----. Sydney is a treasure."

Others defended Sweeney, pointing out the show has always been risqué.

"Girl, it's called acting," one commenter wrote in response to the user who called it a humiliation ritual. "Sydney's playing a messy character on a show that's always been wild and unhinged. If it was too much for her she wouldn't have signed on. People acting shocked like they haven't seen 'Euphoria' before lol."

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"This show literally depicts today's society and it's ironic that when the show does it, it's bad but when people do it in real life, it's easy to gloss over," another added.

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Premiering in 2019, "Euphoria" is the show that helped launch and solidify the careers of many cast members – including Sweeney, Elordi and Zendaya.

The dark suburban teen drama has also featured more established figures like Colman Domingo, who has received two best actor Oscar nominations in the last few years, and the late Eric Dane. And it’s given visibility and recognition to other actors: Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow and Barbie Ferreira. Angus Cloud, another of its breakout performers, died in 2023.

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Series creator Sam Levinson says it's a thrill to see many cast members thriving.

"The thing is when you’re casting, every person that walks in, you’re hoping this is the person, this is going to be the character," he told The Associated Press at the season premiere. "And sometimes when they do, they walk in, they have the talent, they’ve got the passion, the enthusiasm for it, and they inspire you.

"To see them working with such incredible filmmakers like (Christopher) Nolan and (Guillermo) del Toro ... it's just exciting."

Fox News Digital has reached out to HBO for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.