Maitland Ward slams Sydney Sweeney's controversial Euphoria storyline following 'full-on insane' episode
Sydney Sweeney is receiving heat over her character's career choices in Euphoria.
The third season of the Sam Levinson-created series has seen Sweeney's character, Cassie, embark on an OnlyFans career, leaving behind her debt-ridden husband Nate (Jacob Elordi) in her bid to become famous.
Cassie's career choice has proven to be controversial with fans of the show, with her scenes involving full-frontal nudity and dressing as a grown-up baby to please subscribers.
And it's not just Euphoria fans who are unhappy with the show's direction either, as former actor and real-life OnlyFans creator Maitland Ward has now hit out at the show for its depiction of the platform.
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"In the climate we’re in, that they dressed her up as a baby to make pornographic OnlyFans content was beyond troubling, Ward told Variety of the choice to have Cassie engage in age-play for a photoshoot.
"[It] again serves to perpetuate stereotypes that sex workers have no moral compass and that they will do anything for money," she continued.
"To take someone so traditionally blonde and beautiful with the biggest boobs and dress her up as a dog and baby is really bizarre, but at the same time so expected in Hollywood."
Ward, who has starred in multiple pornographic films since joining the industry in 2019, went on to accuse the show of linking sex work with trafficking, adding: "There’s always this untrue stigma that somehow sex work is synonymous with sex trafficking and abuse. And they just said, let’s make a joke of it.
"That is so funny. I’m not laughing."
Ward's comments come as Sweeney's character has another nude scene in last night's episode, with fans calling the moment 'full-on insane'.
She's not the only adult creator on the platform to criticise how the HBO series has depicted sex work either, with popular star Sophie Rain calling Cassie's storyline 'over-dramatised' and 'misleading'.
"I think it's pretty cool that they're bringing OnlyFans into the entertainment world, but the way they're doing it is over-dramatised," Rain, who is one of the most successful creators on the site, told TMZ.
"We shouldn't be portraying OnlyFans that way... It's very misleading."
Meanwhile, Sweeney's co-star Chloe Cherry has also been critical of Cassie's new job, telling Refinery 29: "For me, it just feels crazy as f**k to see somebody living like Cassie turn to sex work."
The 28-year-old, who starred in a Euphoria porn parody before being cast in the real show, added: "OnlyFans and sex work have become more normalised. But it’s literally only because of capitalism and the economy getting worse.”
Topics: Entertainment, TV, Euphoria
Brenna Cooper