Lily-Rose Depp has “never felt more respected and safe” than on Idol set

With one episode remaining in The Idol’s much-discussed but little-liked first season, Lily-Rose Depp is still running defense. Led by Able “The Weeknd” Tesfaye and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, the show was described as a sexist exercise in torture porn even before the first episode premiered and the finished product hasn’t done much to clear that up. Despite the five-minute ovation at Cannes, the response to the series has largely been negative, with most critics either not getting what this show is trying to say or thinking it’s boring.

Depp, however, knew they were “making something provocative,” which explains why the crux of the first episode revolves around a viral image of Depp’s character with “cum all over her face,” as A.V. Club recapper Manuel Betancourt put it. While the show does seem more desperate to shock than provoke genuine conversation about sex and fame, Depp continues to praise her co-workers. “I’ve never felt more respected and more safe on a set, honestly,” she said, which is a relief considering all the complaints about the production oozing out of the set earlier this year. She continued to say that the “trust” built between cast and creators made “for a really safe-feeling set.”

“When it comes to the nudity and the risqué nature of the role, that to me was really intentional,” Depp tells Vogue Australia. “That was really important to me and something that I was excited about doing. I’m not scared of it. I think we live in a highly sexualized world. I think that’s an interesting thing to explore.”