I am all for showing gay sex on television, but this was going too far.
HBO’s new show Euphoria starring Zendaya and Barbie Ferreira just released an episode that included a very NSFW animated scene between former One Direction bandmates Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles.
The scene was a depiction of Barbie’s character Kat’s fan-fiction of Larry Stylinson (a conspiracy theory in which some fans believe that Harry and Louis were secretly dating in the group’s early days).
The sequence shows Harry putting his hand down Louis’ pants and then going down on him before the move into a 69 position.
The major problem? Neither Harry nor Louis gave their consent for HBO to use their names and their likenesses.
On Twitter, Louis confirmed,
“I can categorically say that I was not contacted nor did I approve it.”
HBO, of course, did not invent the whole Harry-Louis fan fiction genre, but what they did was categorically wrong. Using someone else’s likeness to have sex with *anyone* on television is never ok.
It’s one thing to discuss the fan theory, but to bring it to life in such a vivid way is another thing.
Even worse, the Larry Stylinson fan theories really took a toll on Harry and Louis’ relationship in real life at the time, so it’s a pretty hard subject for both of them.
Back in 2017, Louis told The Sun,
“It created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did. It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything, I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable.”
The boys, who had been openly affectionate with each other, begin keeping their distance in public.
It’s unfortunate that Euphoria had to exploit a rumor that clearly so badly hurt Louis. It would be different if Louis and Harry were in on the joke, but it seems neither boy is laughing.
