Sydney Sweeney's Euphoria Character Is Facing Backlash After Offending OnlyFans Models

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Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard blowing a bubble and wearing a baseball cap in Euphoria season 3

Published May 10, 2026, 2:32 PM EDT

Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 6 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.

Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney is causing major online discourse.

Sam Levinson's controversial series Euphoria has returned for its third and final season after a four-year hiatus, and it's already making headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. The HBO series has an incredible cast, including Zendaya, Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, and Alexa Demie. However, Sweeney has been the one in the headlines, but for all the wrong reasons.

Hollywood · Rising Star Dossier How Well Do You Know Sydney Sweeney? From Euphoria to the big screen — test your knowledge

🎡EuphoriaCassie Howard

🏜White
LotusOlivia Mossbacher

📸Anyone
But YouBea

🎬RealityWinner

⛫ImmaculateSister Cecilia

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Sydney Sweeney’s breakout role on HBO’s “Euphoria” earned her widespread recognition. What is the name of her character on the show?

AMaddy Perez BRue Bennett CCassie Howard DLexi Howard

✓ Correct! Sydney plays Cassie Howard, the emotionally vulnerable and people-pleasing teen whose turbulent love life becomes a central storyline. Her Season 2 performance — especially the iconic bathroom meltdown scenes — earned her an Emmy nomination.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Cassie Howard. Rue Bennett is Zendaya’s character, Maddy Perez is played by Alexa Demie, and Lexi Howard (Cassie’s sister) is played by Maude Apatow. Sydney’s Cassie became one of Season 2’s most talked-about characters.

In the first season of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” Sydney plays a sharp, judgmental college student vacationing in Hawaii. What is her character’s name?

ARachel Patton BOlivia Mossbacher CPaula DQuinn Mossbacher

✓ Correct! Sydney plays Olivia Mossbacher, the privileged and intellectually pretentious daughter of the Mossbacher family. Her deadpan delivery and snobbish attitude made Olivia a fan-favorite character in Mike White’s satirical hit.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Olivia Mossbacher. Rachel is Alexandra Daddario’s character, Paula is Brittany O’Grady’s role (Olivia’s best friend), and Quinn is Olivia’s younger brother. Sydney’s Olivia steals every scene with her cutting commentary.

Before her major breakout, Sydney appeared in a critically acclaimed Hulu series based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel. Which show was it?

AThe Handmaid’s Tale BCastle Rock CThe Act DLittle Fires Everywhere

✓ Correct! Sydney played Eden Spencer in Season 2 of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a devout and obedient young bride in the oppressive Gilead regime. Despite being a recurring role, her performance was emotionally devastating and showed her dramatic range early on.

✗ Not quite! The answer is The Handmaid’s Tale. Sydney played Eden Spencer, a 15-year-old bride in Gilead during Season 2. It was one of her first major prestige TV roles and demonstrated the dramatic talent that would later explode with Euphoria.

Sydney starred in the surprise rom-com hit “Anyone But You” (2023). Which actor plays her love interest, Ben, in the film?

AJacob Elordi BAustin Butler CHarris Dickinson DGlen Powell

✓ Correct! Glen Powell plays Ben opposite Sydney’s Bea in this modern retelling inspired by Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” The film became a sleeper box office hit, earning over $220 million worldwide and reviving the theatrical rom-com genre.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Glen Powell. While Jacob Elordi is Sydney’s Euphoria co-star, it’s Glen Powell who plays her enemies-to-lovers match in “Anyone But You.” The film’s massive success was credited to their electric chemistry.

Sydney starred in and produced the 2024 horror film “Immaculate.” Where is the film primarily set?

AA haunted boarding school in England BA remote convent in the Italian countryside CAn abandoned hospital in France DA secluded monastery in Spain

✓ Correct! “Immaculate” is set in a remote Italian convent where Sydney plays Sister Cecilia, a young American nun who discovers the institution harbors terrifying secrets. Sydney also served as a producer on the film, marking a significant step in her behind-the-camera career.

✗ Not quite! The answer is a remote convent in the Italian countryside. Sydney plays Sister Cecilia, a devout young nun who travels to Italy only to find herself trapped in a nightmare. The film was shot on location in Italy and showcased Sydney’s range as both star and producer.

Sydney made Emmy history in 2022 by earning two acting nominations in the same year for two different HBO shows. “Euphoria” was one — what was the other?

ASharp Objects BSuccession CThe White Lotus DThe Handmaid’s Tale

✓ Correct! In 2022, Sydney earned a Supporting Actress nomination for “Euphoria” and a Limited Series Supporting Actress nomination for “The White Lotus” — both on HBO. Being double-nominated across two of the network’s biggest shows cemented her as one of the most in-demand young actresses in Hollywood.

✗ Not quite! The answer is The White Lotus. Sydney’s dual nominations for Euphoria and The White Lotus in the same Emmy cycle was a remarkable achievement. Both shows were critical and commercial hits for HBO, and Sydney was central to each.

In the 2023 HBO film “Reality,” Sydney plays a real-life person — an NSA whistleblower who leaked classified documents to the press. Who did she portray?

AReality Winner BChelsea Manning CTerry Albury DNatalie Mayflower Sours Edwards

✓ Correct! Sydney portrays Reality Winner, the former Air Force linguist and NSA contractor who was arrested in 2017 for leaking a classified report on Russian election interference. The film recreates her FBI interrogation using actual transcript recordings and was praised for Sydney’s riveting, restrained performance.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Reality Winner. The HBO film is based on the real FBI interrogation of Reality Winner, who leaked classified intelligence documents. Sydney’s intense, dialogue-driven performance was widely praised as some of her finest dramatic work.

Beyond acting, Sydney is known for an unusual hobby she’s been passionate about since she was a teenager, even earning a competition-level certification. What is it?

AProfessional-level baking BCompetitive horseback riding CSurfing competitions DMMA-trained fighter / restoring vintage cars

✓ Correct! Sydney is famously a trained MMA fighter and a gearhead who restores classic cars. She’s been passionate about mixed martial arts since high school and has also shared her love of working on vintage automobiles — hobbies that surprised fans who only knew her from her on-screen roles.

✗ Not quite! The answer is MMA training and restoring vintage cars. Sydney trained in MMA as a teenager and still practices. She’s also a self-taught mechanic who restores classic cars in her spare time — she’s shared her work on social media, showing there’s much more to her than meets the eye.

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Sweeney's character, Cassie Howard, has been shown in season 3 exploring career options, including being an OnlyFans model, with her making content such as posing as a dog, dressing as a baby with pigtails, and using her housekeeper, Juana, to capture the content before Demie's character, Maddy, took over as her manager. Real OnlyFans creators have felt that the depiction has caused them to be subject to mockery due to their line of work.

Variety has received statements from some OnlyFans creators regarding the ongoing series, as they feel the way that the work is being shown is not true to how it really is on the platform. Sydney Leathers, who has been an OnlyFans model since 2017, stated that:

"There’s just a lot that’s ridiculous and cartoonish about it. There’s so much that they have her doing that is not even allowed on OnlyFans, and that alone is infuriating: the age-play stuff where she’s dressed as a baby in a diaper, for example. Credit card processors have very strict rules that you have to abide by, and the rules are getting stricter all the time.

Sex workers in general, myself included, tend to be hyper-sensitive about the way Hollywood portrays us because it’s almost never nice. It’s always absurd or depressing and rarely ever on point. When you’re part of a marginalized community, it’s easy to get upset about certain portrayals of it."

The current rules and regulations regarding age-play, which Sweeney depicts in the series, are not accepted on the platform and could result in accounts being deactivated. Another creator, Maitland Ward, who is at the top of her field and has appeared in White Chicks and Boy Meets World, is furious with the way OnlyFans is being exploited on the series:

"In the climate we’re in, that they dressed her up as a baby to make pornographic OnlyFans content was beyond troubling and again serves to perpetuate stereotypes that sex workers have no moral compass and that they will do anything for money. And there’s always this untrue stigma that somehow sex work is synonymous with sex trafficking and abuse. And they just said, let’s make a joke of it. That is so funny. I’m not laughing."

Levinson did respond to the OnlyFans storyline now used for Sweeney's character in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and stated that "[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor, but what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it." However, Ward is stating that that's the reason why the platform is being used, so it won't be "taken seriously."

Sweeney's character is being used as a "humor" tactic, and has proven to not only have very few humorous moments, but has managed to offend people from all walks of life, including those who are currently working on OnlyFans. Hollywood's portrayal of sex workers has consistently remained dicey, and there is never a "nice" depiction of the people in front of the camera. Unfortunately, Euphoria proves it's not going away any time soon.