Euphoria has come under fire for how it portrays substance abuse.
Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E, released a statement about the HBO show saying it "chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use, addiction, anonymous sex, violence, and other destructive behaviours as common and widespread in today's world."
Spider-Man star Zendaya, who plays drug addict Rue Bennett in the series, defended the show saying it "is in no way a moral tale to teach people how to live their life or what they should be doing".
She continued to Entertainment Weekly: "If anything, the feeling behind Euphoria, or whatever we have always been trying to do with it, is to hopefully help people feel a little bit less alone in their experience and their pain. And maybe feel like they're not the only one going through or dealing with what they're dealing with."
Zendaya, who is also an executive on the programme, previously warned fans on Instagram that the show wasn't for younger viewers.
"I know I've said this before, but I do want to reiterate to everyone that Euphoria is for mature audiences," she wrote. "This season, maybe even more so than the last, is deeply emotional and deals with subject matter that can be triggering and difficult to watch."
The actress previously defended the show, after fans complained that her character has been absent for a lot of the series.
"It was important for certain characters who we didn't really get to see much of last season having more time to get to know them and explore their characters," she said. "But it's kind of also Rue as an unreliable narrator, in the sense that she's just trying to skate by without people noticing that she's doing what she's doing, and trying not to get caught."
Catherine was Digital Spy's News Editor between 2018 and 2024. Prior to that she worked at OK! Online, and has interviewed a slew of celebrities across her career in entertainment news, including Tom Hanks, Cheryl and Noel Fielding. Catherine also has specialist knowledge in all things drag, interviewing a huge portion of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, and getting her own drag makeover for Channel 4’s show Drag SOS. LinkedIn
