All The Wild Feud Rumors Surrounding Euphoria

HBO's hit drama series "Euphoria" debuted in the summer of 2019, and viewers craved more after finishing the first season. The show's plot involves vivid depictions of teen addiction and sexuality, as well as candid portrayals of mental illness. There was a long wait-time between each season of "Euphoria" due to the pandemic and the actors' busy schedules, and fans had to endure four years of wondering about the show's fate before it was finally announced that Season 3 would premiere on April 12, 2026. While they spent a lot of time impatiently waiting to catch up with their favorite characters, viewers didn't always need to wait that long to witness any drama.

A well-known truth about "Euphoria" is that there's always speculation about feuds between cast and crew members. From unexplained distance between actors to artistic differences with "Euphoria" creator Sam Levinson, the set seems to be a petri dish for short-lived and ongoing feuds.

Hunter Schaffer and Jacob Elordi spent so much time together while filming Season 1 because their respective characters, Jules Vaughn and Nate Jacobs, were in a toxic romantic entanglement. When Jules and Nate drifted apart in Season 2, "Euphoria" fans speculated that it reflected Schafer and Elordi having drama off-screen.

"Euphoria" lovers on Reddit noticed that the actors hinted at their close relationship on social media and during interviews. However, Elordi and Schafer stopped engaging with each other's Instagram posts around the fall of 2019, when rumors swirled that he was dating Zendaya. Fans wondered if Elordi and Schafer were romantically linked before he started going out with the former Disney star, which would explain the sudden switch from being affectionate to not paying attention to each other online. Others argued that Schafer and Elordi's drama was related to his brief romance with Zendaya in a different way after Schafer purportedly unfollowed the Nate actor in 2021. One fan theory was that Schafer sided with Zendaya after the rumored couple split up.

For a while, the public was uncertain about the exact reason Elordi and Schafer spoke less, but in 2022, the Jules actor reportedly followed Elordi again after the premiere of Season 2. Reconnecting online and having no speculative negative press indicates that Schafer and Elordi likely didn't have a huge falling out.

One of the tragic details about the cast of "Euphoria" is Barbie Ferreira's departure from the show after she and creator Sam Levinson reportedly couldn't get along. In Season 1, Ferreira's character, Kat Hernandez, had a captivating story arc as a fuller-figured teen who embraced her body through the controversial method of webcam modeling. Kat had a smaller part the following season as she dealt with her insecurities, supported her girl group, and abruptly pushed her boyfriend Ethan away. Many viewers felt like this change indicated Levinson was feuding with Ferreira.

Netizens on X accused Levinson of being unprofessional, with one user writing, "Sam apparently wanted to give kat an ED n barbie left the set so he cut out a bunch of her scenes." While having different visions for a character can be a source of conflict, Levinson and Ferreira's situation wasn't as bad as the reports made it seem.

Ferreira told Dax Shepard that her departure from "Euphoria" was a mutual decision on his podcast, "Armchair Expert." She said, "I think my character, who I love so dearly, I don't think there was a place for her to go." Ferreira confirmed Shepard's idea that Kat "had run her course story-wise" and that she and Levinson wanted different things for Kat. "Sam writes for things that he relates to," she said. "I don't think he relates to Kat."

As the creator, writer, and director of "Euphoria," Sam Levinson has reportedly clashed with more than one cast member, including Zendaya. Levinson and Zendaya were on good terms at the start of their collaboration. The Rue actor posted a video of Levinson's speech about his teenage years in a 2019 Instagram post. Her heartfelt caption read, "Sam thank you for existing so Rue could exist. You're courageous and brilliant and I'm lucky to learn from you." After the show's first season, Levinson cast the actor in the 2021 Netflix film "Malcolm & Marie," but tension was brewing between Zendaya and Levinson as the wait time for Season 3 dragged on.

Levinson arguably pushed back the final season of "Euphoria" by working on "The Idol," another controversial HBO show that was filmed in 2022 before its release in 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zendaya distanced herself from Levinson because of his dedication to "The Idol" and the backlash he received for the show. However, a source for Levinson told the Reporter that Zendaya's movie career was the real reason behind production of "Euphoria" being delayed. "Everybody wanted to make it about Sam, but it was her," they said.

Zendaya had a classy response to the rumor in 2024. She told Vanity Fair, "I've been open, just waiting. ... I'm actually going to start filming a project soon before 'Euphoria,' and I'm like, Man, I'm rusty. I haven't been on a set in, like, two years almost."

It's no secret that "Euphoria" is shrouded in controversy for its content and its cast and crew. In 2025, Sydney Sweeney seemed to gain more attention for her scandals than she did for her work. The "Anyone but You" actress was criticized for filming American Eagle's "My jeans are blue" commercial because critics argued that it was a white supremacist dog whistle. Sweeney's reaction to Donald Trump's praise definitely didn't help her beat the MAGA allegations either. The buzz about the denim ad also unearthed that she registered as a Republican in Florida in 2024.

Although registering as a Republican doesn't always correlate with supporting Trump, the denim commercial and Sweeney's refusal to speak out against the white supremacy allegations reportedly ended her friendship with Zendaya. In 2025, a source involved with "Euphoria" told the Daily Mail, "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 March 2026 promo for Season 3 suggested this rift might be true. The Instagram reel showed solo shots of Zendaya, Sweeney, and other female leads, but Sweeney was the only one not featured in the girls' group video. Fans pointed this out in the comments, and some even applauded Zendaya for distancing herself from Sweeney.