Sydney Sweeney, the 27-year-old star of HBO’s Euphoria, is no stranger to playing intense, controversial roles. However, her portrayal of Cassie Howard—a character with complex storylines involving hypersexualization, abortion, and infidelity—led to an unexpected reaction from her own family.
In a candid interview, Sweeney revealed that her father and grandfather had to walk out of a viewing party they held after watching one of her most explicit scenes. While her mother was prepared, having visited Sweeney on set and knowing the nature of the show, her father was left shocked. “I didn’t prepare my dad at all,” she laughed in an interview with NBC’s Sunday Today.
Her father even invited her grandparents to join the viewing, but things took a turn when they saw the gritty nature of Euphoria. Both her dad and grandfather were so uncomfortable that they switched off the show and left. However, not everyone was fazed—Sweeney shared that her grandmother is a huge supporter, saying, “She’s a fan… I bring her all over the world to my different sets and make her an extra.”
Sweeney acknowledged that playing these roles comes with its challenges. Many viewers struggle to separate her from her characters, which has made her a frequent subject of objectification and labeling as a “sex symbol.” But for Sweeney, these roles are empowering, and she remains unapologetic about her work.
Euphoria continues to be praised for tackling heavy topics such as mental illness, revenge porn, and drug abuse, but it has also left many of its cast members in awkward situations with friends and family.
