Johnny Depp is ‘proud of’ daughter Lily-Rose for taking on raunchy role in The Idol

Johnny Depp is ‘proud of’ daughter Lily-Rose for taking on her scandalous role in ‘torture porn’ series The Idol – and is believes that the furious controversy surrounding the series, for which she went topless and filmed a scandalous masturbation scene, is a sign that she is ‘doing something right’.

The 24-year-old actress takes center stage in HBO’s latest show as singer Jocelyn who suffered a nervous breakdown on tour before meeting mysterious nightclub impresario Tedros – played by The Weeknd.

The sexually-charged series, which involves masturbation, throttling and explicit selfies of Lily-Rose, has been met with criticism as viewers claimed creator Sam Levinson had turned it into ‘torture porn and a rape fantasy.’

But, despite the backlash, a source close to Johnny told DailyMail.com that he is unfazed and instead ‘believes she must be doing something right to have gained so much attention.’ 

Johnny Depp is ‘proud of’ daughter Lily-Rose for taking on controversial role in The Idol, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal

The 24-year-old actress takes center stage in the HBO show as a singer who suffered a nervous breakdown before meeting mysterious nightclub impresario Tedros – played by The Weeknd

The sexually-charged series, which involves masturbation, throttling and explicit selfies of Lily-Rose, has been slammed over claims Sam Levinson turned it into ‘torture porn’

The source told DailyMail.com: ‘Johnny loves that Lily is carving out a career of her own and challenging herself to take on roles that interest her and test her. 

‘He loves that she is her own person and becoming her own actress. She isn’t resting her career on his success. 

‘He loves that she is such a strong person, especially now that she has gotten some extra attention with her recent role in The Idol. 

‘He is proud of her and not lending anything to the extra chatter and drama that the role brings.

‘He believes that she must be doing something right since the role is getting so much attention, and he is proud of her success.’

A spokesperson for Johnny declined to comment.  

The show features several explicit scenes – with one particular sexual encounter involving a knife which ends with Tedros almost throttling Jocelyn.

When asked if the treatment of female sexuality in The Idol had gone too far, Levinson, best-known for writing the hyper-explicit teen drama series Euphoria, replied: ‘We live in a very sexualized world especially in the States – porn’s influence is strong and in the psyche of young people.’ 

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The show features several explicit scenes – with one particular sexual encounter involving a knife which ends with Tedros almost throttling Jocelyn 

Lily-Rose herself had previously come out in defense of the show and its creator after members of the crew spoke anonymously to Rolling Stone for a piece in which they said Sam had cranked up the show’s nudity, sex and violence to exploitative levels. 

She told E! News in a statement: ‘Sam is, for so many reasons, the best director I have ever worked with.

‘Never have I felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued.

‘Working with Sam is a true collaboration in every way – it matters to him, more than anything, not only what his actors think about the work, but how we feel performing it.

‘He hires people whose work he esteems and has always created an environment in which I felt seen, heard, and appreciated.’

Lily-Rose also recently told People that its raunchiness is ‘very important’ in the portrayal of her wannabe singer character. 

But the series was branded as ‘toxic’ and ‘disturbing’ in the early wave of reviews by both critics and viewers alike as many questioned why Lily-Rose Depp’s character is ‘always butt a** naked.’

One piece penned by The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye dubbed the forthcoming drama ‘more regressive than transgressive’ in a disappointing verdict.

When asked if the treatment of female sexuality in The Idol had gone too far, the filmmaker replied: ‘We live in a very sexualized world especially in the States – porn’s influence is strong and in the psyche of young people’ 

The review told how HBO sought to amplify the sex-fueled debauchery in marketing the series, advertising it from the ‘sick and twisted minds’ of Levinson and The Weeknd. 

It also criticized the ‘gratuitous’ displays of nudity for Lily’s character Jocelyn, adding: ‘Rarely does a scene go by without the camera showing flashes of her breasts or a**. 

Meanwhile, Variety spoke about some of the ‘controversial’ sexual portrayals on the show as it claimed that The Idol had ‘scandalized’ Cannes at its premiere.

Critics Matt Donnelly and Zack Sharf wrote: ‘Revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists and vile Hollywood sycophants populated the first two episodes of the already-controversial series.’

Deadline also referenced the previous controversies surrounding the series and slammed Cannes for being ‘attention-grabbing’ by premiering a HBO show at the prestigious Film Festival.