The Weeknd says ‘The Idol’ sex scenes aren’t meant to be ‘sexy’

The Weeknd doesn’t want anyone to get away with ‘The Idol’.

Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, who co-created and starred in the HBO series, said GQ that the “gluttonous” sex scenes between his character Tedros and Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn should make one shiver.

“There’s nothing sexy about it,” Tesfaye said, citing a nod to “Basic Instinct” in the premiere episode. “When we use ‘Basic Instinct’ as a reference, we are using (Paul) Verhoeven. Verhoeven is the king of satirical thrillers of the 90s: yes, there are ‘sexy’ moments in his films, but there are others that are very cheesy and hilarious.”

Tesfaye continued, “How do you feel watching that scene, whether it’s uncomfortable, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed about the characters. It’s all those emotions that add up to: this guy is in over his head, this situation is one where he shouldn’t be here.

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The “After Hours” singer added that Tedros is intentionally portrayed as a “despicable psychopath” and is not who audiences should identify with.

“You look at it and that’s a score — Jocelyn might be the greatest score she’s ever had. It’s very obvious. She’s too forgiving, she walks into this house looking around like, ‘Damn, am I in too much of my head? This may be the biggest job she’s ever done,’” Tesfaye said. “Whatever she’s doing. Even the sex, it’s so greedy, especially in episode 2. ‘Gluttony’ is the only word that comes to my mind (to describe it). She can’t believe she’s there. She comes off as such a loser. Those moments are the humanity you find in a psychopath, the chink in her armor.

He added: “It’s all intentional to increase the field of everything. But the reality is, there’s nothing really mysterious or mesmerizing about him. And we did it on purpose with the way he looks, his clothes, his hair: the kid is a jerk. He is despicable, a psychopath: why sweeten him? But it’s kind of useful to this girl, and it’s a shame and we hate to see it.

The ‘Uncut Gems’ actor added that he does not relate in any way to the nefarious club owner-bar-manager Tedros and was reluctant to even take on the role.

“Initially, I never wrote it with me in mind. That’s just the truth,” Tesfaye said. “But over the years, Sam (Levinson) convinced me and came up with some really great ideas for the show. I could play this role was if it was something completely different from who I am. And I can distance myself from that character. I wanted to make sure that he didn’t look anything like me, didn’t act like me, just a completely different person.

“The Idol” will premiere on HBO and Max on Sundays, with Episode 3 arriving this weekend.