Sydney Sweeney’s “Euphoria” character, Cassie Howard, turned to OnlyFans in the new season of the HBO show. However, the depiction has real-life creators firing back. In the show, Sweeney‘s character is dressed as a dog lapping water from a bowl, then as a baby in a sheer pink shirt with a rattle, using the avatars to build an online following. Now, actual OnlyFans creators say that the whole storyline feels like a “ridiculous” joke.
Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Euphoria’ character sparks backlash from OnlyFans creators
Sydney Leathers, who has created content on OnlyFans since 2017, spoke to Variety about Sydney Sweeney’s character in “Euphoria.” Leathers said, “There’s just a lot that’s ridiculous and cartoonish about it.” She added, “There’s so much that they have her doing that is not even allowed on OnlyFans, and that alone is infuriating: the age-play stuff where she’s dressed as a baby in a diaper, for example.” Moreover, she emphasized that there are “strict rules that you have to abide by, and the rules are getting stricter all the time.”
Maitland Ward, a top earner on the platform and a former sitcom star, says the baby costume in particular does real damage. She explained that it is “beyond troubling and again serves to perpetuate stereotypes that sex workers have no moral compass and that they will do anything for money.” She sneered, “And they just said, let’s make a joke of it. That is so funny. I’m not laughing.”
Fortunately, not every part of Cassie’s journey misses the mark. One scene shows her hitting a crowded influencer party to film content and get her name out there, which Alix Lynx — another popular OnlyFans creator — thought was “smart.” But Lynx added that the show then falls back on lazy shortcuts, emphasizing that “You have to really grow and nurture a fan base.”
Leathers says that Sweeney’s “Euphoria” character’s whole storyline, and the way Hollywood represents them in general, is “rarely ever on point.” Hence, she says, “When you’re part of a marginalized community, it’s easy to get upset about certain portrayals of it.”
