Sydney Sweeney has revealed she asked for some of her topless scenes to be cut from Euphoria.
The actress plays Cassie in the hit HBO Max series, which follows a group of high school students as they try to navigate their experiences of identity, trauma, drugs, friendship, love, and sex.
In a new interview with The Independent, the 24-year-old revealed some of her character’s topless scenes were cut from the new season because she didn’t think they were “necessary”.
She said: “[The show’s creator] Sam [Levinson] is amazing. There are moments where [my character] Cassie was supposed to be shirtless and I would tell Sam, ‘I don’t really think that’s necessary here. He was like, ‘OK, we don’t need it.’”
“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,” she added.
Sydney noted that her experiences with nudity on Euphoria were different than other projects she’s worked on, telling the publication: “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 castmate or the crew, and I just didn’t feel like my character would be doing it. That made me even more self-conscious. I didn’t feel like I was able to speak up.”
“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,” the actress added.
“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?'”
Sydney also noted the “stigma against actresses who get naked on screen”.
“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,” she said.
