An egg has become the center of controversy and viral discourse after Rolling Stone published a story on HBO's long-delayed series The Idol.

The Idol hit a bit of a snag since it was ordered in November 2021. The series, starring Lily-Rose Depp as an aspiring pop singer and The Weeknd as the leader of a sex cult said to resemble NXVIM, switched directors in April with reportedly 80 percent of the episodes filmed. Euphoria director Sam Levinson took over for The Girlfriend Experience director Amy Seimetz.

Rolling Stone reported that the shift had disastrous consequences for the series' production. Interviews with 13 cast and crew members suggest that Seimetz's vision for the show involved "a troubled starlet falling victim to a predatory industry figure and fighting to reclaim her own agency," but after Levinson took over, his rewrites and reshoots are said to have turned the series into "shock porn," replete with nudity and rape. The article describes the reimagined series as a "degrading love story with a hollow message that some crew members describe as being offensive."

While much of the article focuses on the crew's disappointment in the new direction of the series, details about Levinson's rumored vision for it have recently grabbed the internet's attention. Amidst a slew of graphic, sexually violent scenes sources told Rolling Stone were in Levinson's script, one involved The Weeknd's character telling Depp's to "put an egg in her vagina." If the egg broke, The Weeknd's character would not "rape" Depp's. However, Depp's character ends up "begging" to be raped because she believes that's the key to her success as a singer.

The scene was not filmed because, according to Rolling Stone's sources, the crew couldn't figure out a way to shoot the scene without literally doing the "insertion" called for in the script. The article led to much condemnation for Levinson and his idea for a "vagina egg" scene, as many felt the director's thankfully unfilmed vision was a step too far.

Depp has stuck by the director, saying in a statement to Rolling Stone that Levinson is the "best director" she'd ever worked with and that she never "felt more supported or respected in a creative space, my input and opinions more valued.”