The latest episode of Euphoria is receiving backlash online for the inclusion of a racial slur.
Sam Levinson's coming-of-age series is no stranger to controversy, with the season three premiere receiving heat for its sexualised depiction of Sydney Sweeney's Cassie in a baby-inspired costume while Zendaya and Chloe Cherry were seen swallowing packets of drugs as part of a smuggling operation.
Last night's episode was no different either, as Sweeney appeared in a full frontal nude scene as part of her character's OnlyFans storyline.
However, it was the inclusion of a racial slur against another character which has caused the most backlash online.
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During the episode 'America My Dream', there is a heated phone call between Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Laurie (Martha Kelly), with one of her associates using the n-word during the conversation.
"When you do something wrong, you have to make amends," Alamo tells Laurie after she sells him drugs accidentally laced with fentanyl.
"Simple concept of reparations," he adds.
However, Laurie's associate doesn't take kindly to Alamo's words, telling him to 'shove them up his n***** a**'.
Although Alamo is clearly upset by the racist slur, he takes further offence to being called a 'pig' later in the scene by Laurie – a moment which has left fans divided.
"Saying being called a pig is worse than being called a n**** blew me," wrote one person on X, to which a second user responded: "That's how we KNEW a White guy wrote this smh."
This isn't the only time in which the n-word is used in the episode, with Angel (Priscilla Delgado) also using the slur, while Wayne (Toby Wallace) has a Nazi tattoo and flag in his room.
"Faye f**king a nazi …? what am i watching #euphoria," a third viewer said of the moment, while a fourth penned: "Man, what the hell is Euphoria even about at this point? Random sex scene next to a nazi flag, really Sam Levinson?"
"I HATED how they kept using the n-word in this episode. It was NOT needed," a fifth user said of the overall episode.
Levinson has since explained his reasoning for using the word during the exchange, with him and Akinnuoye-Agbaje telling Variety why Alamo took more offence to being called a 'pig' over a racial slur.
"I just thought it was interesting to play with the racial dynamics of these two crews," Levinson said. "With the pig comment... It opens up this insecurity in him that allows us to start to see how human he is. There are things someone could say to any one of us that may seem insignificant, but it sticks in our head."
"As a man who pulled himself up from his bootstraps post-slavery to become what he regards as the emperor of his empire, it was interesting that 'pig' was worse for Alamo than the n-word," Akinnuoye-Agbaje added.
Going on to reveal why it triggered the character's insecurity, he explained that Alamo sees himself as an 'emperor', so to be referred to as a pig was a major insult.
LADbible has approached HBO and Sam Levinson for comment.
Topics: Euphoria, TV and Film, TV, HBO
Brenna Cooper