Euphorias Sam Levinson Faces Backlash Over Nazi Symbols

creator Sam Levinson has been called out for the 'unnecessary use' of Nazi symbols in the show.

After being astounded by the content in episode five, which saw go topless and suck toes, fans had been hoping for a return to the gritty storylines and complex content that shone through in the first two seasons.

However, episode six of season three proved that creator Sam Levinson was still out to shock and scandalise viewers, with the episode, titled Stand Still and See, featuring even more disturbing content.

In one disturbing scene, Faye Valentine's (played by Chloe Cherry) white supremacist drug dealer Wayne (Toby Wallace) - who has a tattoo of Othala [a Nazi symbol] on his arm - gives her a swastika tattoo on her lower back.

Fans watching the show hit out at Sam for the use of Nazi symbols in the show, as they claimed it had no relevance.

A previous episode also showed Faye in a graphic sex scene with Wayne in front of a Nazi flag. 

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, fans threatened to switch off the show after claiming it was the 'worst ever'. 

They penned: 'Euphoria is a damn mess because what is this Nazi sh*t? Like what was the reason? I was genuinely taken aback like',

'Faye’s weird Nazi boyfriend tattooing a Nazi symbol on Faye, omg, Sam Levinson can rot in hell',

'If i had a dollar for every time i saw a swastika this season of euphoria, i would have too many dollars',

'I honestly don’t get the Nazi thing at all like?? Why does it contribute to the storyline',

'Another swastika bro. Why are we doing this. it has no plot the show what so ever',

'I just feel like perhaps we could have done without the whole Nazi thing in euphoria.'

The episode also saw Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) continue her lucrative OnlyFans career. 

Cassie's manager, and former best friend, Maddy (Alexa Demie) brings her to the Silver Slipper strip club to take some racy photos with strippers Magick (played by singer Rosalia) and Kitty (Anna Van Patten).

She gushes that the place is 'so photogenic' as Cassie poses in a pink bikini on top of the bar.

She later struggles while holding a big white python and wearing nothing but a beige thong.

However, she faced a major dilemma when she was suddenly offered a role on a television series titled LA Nights.

The demanding showrunner, played by Hollywood icon Sharon Stone, gave her an ultimatum, telling Cassie she needed to delete her OnlyFans account to secure the gig.

Though Cassie initially agreed to the terms, she found herself deeply torn and called her husband Nate (Jacob Elordi), for moral support.

When he failed to answer his phone - after getting his ring finger and a toe chopped off by loan shark Naz (Jack Topalian), whom he owed money to in the last episode - Cassie experienced a sudden change of heart and ended up deleting her profile from the adult platform.

Fans were left baffled by the episode, with one asking, 'wtf is this euphoria plot even.'

'So tired,' another wrote. 'The snake around Cassie??'; 'What do you mean there's a deadly snake that cassie takes pictures with?' 

'That was such a weird episode,' another added.

Euphoria fans have certainly noticed a shift in season three, with Sam coming under scrutiny, thanks to Sydney Sweeney's 'degrading' OnlyFans storyline, which has been described as a 'humiliation ritual'.

Since its inception in 2019, the show has been famed for breaking boundaries with graphic portrayals of teen drug use, sex and violence.

However, viewers have claimed that Sam's 'disturbing' and 'misogynistic' storylines for the new season have 'lost the plot'.

Fans have been appalled by how far Sydney's character, Cassie, has been willing to go, with her most X-rated scenes yet.

While shooting content for her OnlyFans, Cassie has dressed as an 'adult baby' as well as going fully nude for scenes.

Fans were also disturbed by Cassie's 'puppy play' exploits when she dressed up as a lingerie-clad dog, which led to Sam having to defend the scenes.

Sam told The Hollywood Reporter: '[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humour, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.

'What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we're able to tie into it so that we're not too inside of her fantasy or illusion - the gag is to jump out, to break the wall.'

Meanwhile, Sydney told Entertainment Tonight: 'I mean, Cassie's a crazy character.

'She will do anything and at all costs to be famous this season, and she makes a lot of very wild and interesting choices.'

Sam previously defended the explicit nature of his work, noting during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival: 'We live in a very sexualized world. The influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of young people.'

Ahead of its premiere, the third season was torched with early reviews, with the show being labeled as an 'unhinged disaster' yet 'pretty uneventful.'

The season currently holds a 40 percent 'rotten' rating on reviews aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, in comparison to season one and two's 80 and 78 percent 'fresh' score.

Euphoria airs at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO on Sundays. In the UK, the series airs at 2am and 9pm on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and streams on HBO Max and Sky Go/NOW