Even If The Sydney Sweeney Feud Isn't Real, Expert Reveals Why Zendaya Posing With Her Doesn't Make For Great Optics

After years of waiting, Euphoria Season 3 is finally here. Sam Levinson's Award-winning series (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) is catching up with the characters a few years after high school, with the cast returning to their signature roles. There's been some rumors about a beef between stars Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, and an insider offered more insight about why the situation is complicated.

After its premiere, Euphoria joined the ranks of HBO shows that got the world talking, with the cast becoming household names in the process. Emmy-winner Zendaya is back as Rue for Season 3, although there's been chatter online about a possible rift between her and Sweeney... especially after they didn't pose together at the recent premiere. An anonymous source spoke to The Daily Mail about the Dune actress seemingly keeping her distance, claiming:

It's a difficult position for Zendaya to be in because if she even stands next to Sydney on the red carpet, it can be read as her excusing Sydney's views on Trump and her refusal to apologize for the racist ad.

The ad in question is Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle commercial, which received backlash after its release. There's also been chatter about where the Madame Web actress' politics lie, although she hasn't actually spoken about how she feels on the political spectrum, and hasn't publicly supported any politicians. Still, that hasn't stopped the discourse from folks online.

If this insider is to be believed, Zendaya might be in between a rock and a hard place. Not being seen with Sweeney makes it looks like they've got beef, but posing with her at the Euphoria Season 3 premiere might have been seen by some as cosigning her Eagle campaign, or so on and so forth.

HBO Max: Plans start from $10.99 a month

HBO Max: Plans start from $10.99 a month
Euphoria is streaming exclusively on HBO Max. If you want to see old or new episodes you need an HBO Max subscription, so sign up now.

The internet has been ablaze since Euphoria's premiere event, with plenty of folks online dissecting how the cast did or didn't interact with each other. Specifically how the rest of the Euphoria cast interacted with Sydney Sweeney on the red carpet. While Zendaya didn't pose with the Anyone But You actress, others thought things seemed tense with Maude Apatow and Alexa Demie.

Critical response for Euphoria Season 3 has been mixed, and it should be interesting to see how this discourse about the cast helps or hurts its viewership. It seems like the HBO series will end after this batch of episodes, so the stakes are high.

Euphoria airs new episodes Sundays on HBO as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to wait and see if the finale ends up being the last episode of the entire series.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.