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Is 'The Idol' based on Selena Gomez? Internet draws parallels between HBO series and pop singer's life

'The Idol' follows Lily Rose-Depp's character Jocelyn as she makes her singing comeback after a mental breakdown

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Euphoria' creator Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, launched their highly anticipated HBO series 'The Idol' earlier this month. The show has been heavily criticized from all sides, but the most surprising criticism has come from people who believe it is loosely based on events in the life of a well-known pop artist.

Social media fans are persuaded that the now-canceled HBO miniseries 'The Idol' is strikingly similar to Selena Gomez's life events. Some are criticizing The Weeknd for the series' obvious similarities to the singer's life. Since the debut of the trailer for the new TV program, it has been surrounded by controversy. Viewers of the show are now perplexed by the "weird" references to Selena. Some viewers have already described the show as a "scarring" experience. The Weeknd and Sam co-created it, which tells the narrative of a fictitious pop singer. However, when additional episodes were aired, people accused the co-creator of exploiting his ex-girlfriend, believing that events in the program were drawn from Selena's life.

Is HBO's 'The Idol' inspired by Selena?

'The Idol' follows Jocelyn as she makes a return after canceling her tour due to a mental breakdown. The character is seen posing for the cover art of her single at one point in the show. Jocelyn decides to wear her hospital bracelet from recovery to the shoot. Fans immediately saw similarities to Selena's 'Bad Liar' shoot. The most obvious parallel is that both 'The Idol's' lead characters, Jocelyn, and Selena are pop singers who began their careers as child performers on a popular children's program. Selena notably played Alex Russo on Disney's 'Wizards of Waverly Place,' while Jocelyn's previous acting stint is anonymous but vital to her origin tale.

Jocelyn and her mother had a difficult relationship that bordered on abuse as she rose to popularity. And, while Selena has never claimed that her mother physically mistreated her, their relationship has had its ups and downs. Selena's mother has previously expressed her displeasure with Selena's connection with artist Justin Bieber, as well as her professional relationship with director Woody Allen after she was cast in his film 'A Rainy Day in New York.' "No one can make Selena do anything she doesn't want to. I had a long talk with her about not working with [Allen] and it didn't click," Selena's mother stated in a January 2018 Instagram post. "Her team are amazing people. There is no fall person here. No one controls her. She makes all her own decisions. No matter how hard you try to advise. It falls on deaf ears."

The singer is also wearing a hospital band in the original cover image, as the photo was taken shortly after her lupus treatment. Since Selena was dating The Weeknd at the time, fans on social media speculated that he borrowed her experience for Jocelyn's role. Even the imaginary character's connection with her closest friend and assistant raised some questions. Viewers immediately started comparing it with Selena's friendship with her best friend Raquelle Stevens. Despite the speculations of the fans, there is no confirmation of these rumors. There were also analogies between Jocelyn's life and Britney Spear's, although Sam denied these accusations and claimed that the show was not modeled after Britney or anyone else in particular.

'The Weeknd's weird Selena Gomez fetish'

Ahead of 'The Idol's finale on July 2, one user wrote on Twitter, "Is based off Selena Gomez' life in 2016/2017. bro what." Another person quipped, "Do you think Selena Gomez cringes really hard after hearing anything about #THEIDOL cause if that was my ex I’d try to erase all record of us ever being together." After the series finale aired, one user further tweeted, "Y'all can't tell me the intro this lame ass last episode doesn't sound like Selena Gomez." A fourth user tweeted, "Just watched #theidol and y’all CAN NOT tell me these jocelyns songs don’t sound like something out of a selena gomez album lol." Some fans couldn't help but connect 'The Idol' with The Weeknd's relationship with Selena Gomez, "People saying The Idol is just The Weeknd's weird Selena Gomez fetish Wattpad fan fic oh I need that man in prison right now." Another fan said, "I didn’t realize how much The Weeknd made The Idol off of Selena Gomez… yikes." Another fan noted, "The Idol being a vanity project for The Weeknd but exploiting Selena Gomez’s life is actually so sick"

Some users put parallels together between the HBO series and the pop singer and tweeted, "I wish i was making this up." Selena fans joked, "Selena be like why y'all still obsessed with me." One user noted, "I 100% agree the Idol is about Selena." Another user commented, "Lol if I was Selena Gomez I’d be so pissed the show was not even good."

'The Idol' is available for streaming on HBO Max in its entirety.