Sunday night (July 2), the first season of HBO’s new original series The Idol came to a close with its fifth episode titled “Jocelyn Forever.” Ushered in with an epic Lil Baby and The Weeknd collaborative song for the show’s soundtrack, the new episode contained a juicy, fourth-wall-breaking, pop culture reference that turned some heads in the industry.
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During a conversation where the main character Jocelyn, played by Lily Rose-Depp, talks with her team about going on tour, her manager notes how Kanye West, even late in his career, was able to successfully attract crowds for shows. In this argument, he also references West’s weeks-long antisemitic tirade that he went on during October and November 2022.
“You know, fucking Kanye was filling arenas until he decided to start following Adolf Hitler,” she asserts.
What the character is likely referencing is West’s multiple, arena-filling listening parties that he held for his 2021 and 2022 Donda and Donda 2 albums. Before earning himself quasi-societal outcasting due to his antisemitism, West was able to draw thousands of fans to his shows so they could hear songs he had been crafting for his recent albums. Now, though, it feels unlikely he would be able to replicate this appeal.
Regardless, the joke included in The Idol‘s finale is a bit surprising. The Weeknd, as a creator, writer, and lead actor for the show, has held a great relationship with West throughout the past few years. Most recently, the duo connected for the song “Hurricane,” also featuring Lil Baby, which was included on West’s 10th album, Donda, and reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Similarly, over the weekend, West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian made an appearance in the trailer for her Hulu series, The Kardashians, as she discusses her disapproval of West’s antisemitism. Surfacing a clip from around the time West was first making his remarks, the show finds Kardashian in tears as she laments about West’s missteps.
“It’s so different from the person that I married,” Kardashian says while crying. “That’s who I loved, and that’s who I remember. I’ll do anything to get that person back.”
Ultimately, it seems like many of his once-friends and family decided to distance themselves from West, who has incurred lawsuits, financial loss, and failed business partnerships due to his bizarre antisemitic stances.
Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
