Jane Adams Addresses Feminists Criticizing ‘The Idol’: “Go F**k Yourself”

Jane Adams played label executive Nikki Katz in HBO’s controversial series The Idol — and it’s clear that she takes after her character’s cutthroat personality. In response to the backlash over the show’s heightened nudity and BDSM-like sex scenes as well as accusations of a toxic work environment on set, Adams told feminist critics to “go fuck” themselves.

Earlier this year, Rolling Stone published a scathing exposé in which a production member claimed The Idol was “like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have.” Another source alleged to Page Six that creator/star Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye displayed “egomaniacal” behavior on-set.

Despite the accusations, several of the show’s female cast members have publicly stated otherwise.

“What is amazing to me is no one’s listening — I’ve not seen that before in all my days, such a dogged ‘We refuse to change the narrative,'” Adams told Vanity Fair. “I especially want to say to all the feminists, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ All these women that I’m working with are talking about their experience and you’re not listening. You’re not listening!”

Elsewhere in the interview, Adams doubled down on her stance.

“Free speech is the license to offend, period, full stop,” she said. “The funniest stuff, to me, is going to offend a group of people no matter what you do.”

Earlier this year, series star Lily-Rose Depp — who plays emotionally vulnerable pop star Jocelyn — addressed rumors about Tesfaye and co-creator Sam Levinson‘s on-set behavior. At a Cannes press conference, she said it’s “sad and disheartening to see these mean, false things about somebody that you really care about and that you know is not like that,” per The Daily Beast.

Meanwhile, Da’Vine Joy Randolph — who plays Jocelyn’s manager Destiny and also stars in Only Murders in the Building — further denied any behind-the-scenes wrongdoing in a recent interview with Variety.

“I never ever saw anything,” she insisted. “And to be very transparent with you, if I did see anyone being mistreated — especially since I was one of the older actors — I would have said something, or I would have walked off that set.”

Randolph added, “There were long hours. But every show is that way. I did not feel like I was being abused over the hours. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or abusive or crazy. And on top of it, I think they gave even more love, care, sensitivity and respect, due to the fact of what the actors have to do.”

All episodes of The Idol are currently streaming on Max.