Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: euphoria

Euphoria: Barbie Ferreira Addresses Rumors About Her Departure

During a recent interview, Barbie Ferreira discussed her departure from HBO and Sam Levinson's Euphoria and the rumors surrounding it.

It was back in August 2022 when we first learned that Barbie Ferreira (Bob Trevino Likes It) would not be returning for the third season of HBO and Sam Levinson's Zendaya and Hunter Schafer-starring Euphoria. "After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character, Kat, I'm having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye. I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today. I put all my care and love into her, and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you, Katherine Hernandez," Ferreira wrote in an Instagram Stories post, confirming that her run on the series was over. A little more than 2-1/2 years later – and with cameras finally rolling on Season 3 – Ferreira checked in with The Viall Files podcast, where the topic of her departure was discussed – including rumors of issues on the set, including a report that Ferreira walked off the set after a disagreement with Levinson.

"I think instead of me kind of lingering around for nine months, I think it was best for both of us that we just ended it there. Of course, it's hard — I love 'Euphoria.' I love Kat. Kat means the world to me. I spent so many years pouring everything into her, but it's like, you don't want to ruin a good thing," Ferreira shared. "It was a mutual decision. It was absolutely not just me. Everyone decided that … there was nowhere to go, and that's hard obviously because I'm like, 'What am I going to do?' But again, with acting, things happen all the time and you just have to have thick skin and make the right decisions for you in your career."

Ferreira also reflected back on the online rumors and rumblings about her time on the show. "I was really young, and it was tough. Obviously, there was a lot of discourse about it that wasn't true, and I'm a person who just kind of lets everything happen," she explained. "It's a popular show, so people took it out of — I never walked off set. There was never anything like that. That was a whole thing, 'She did all this,' and I was like, 'I absolutely never did that.' You could ask the hundreds of people that were there every day. Fan theories are crazy, and most of the time, they're not right, but sometimes they are."

Ferreira cleared up some of the rumors surrounding her departure from Euphoria during an interview with the Armchair Expert podcast from 2023. In addition, she explains that it was a "mutual decision" for the two parties to part ways, feeling Kat's story had reached the end of its run on the show ("Sam [Levinson] writes for, like, things that he relates to. I don't think he relates to Kat"). In addition, Ferreira addressed how the show's production schedule makes it difficult to take on other projects.

Ferreira on Not Fueling Season 2 Drama: "For me, when people ask me about Season 2, it's usually they come at me with, like, I was some sort of victim to Season 2, and I'm always like, 'No, it's okay, promise. It's good.' I kind of got sucked into this drama that I never asked to be in and that I've never talked about. I'm of the mindset that if it doesn't exist, I'm not going to address it because then I'm adding fuel to it. It's taken on a life of its own. Don't believe everything you read."

Ferreira on Rumors She Walked Off Set After Argument with Levinson: "I actually did not walk off set. I did sprain my ankle once and had to go get an X-ray. Maybe that's what they mean?"

Ferreira on Wanting Kat to Be More Than "The Fat Best Friend": "I don't think there was a place for [Kat] to go. I think there were places she could have gone. I just don't think it would have fit into the show. I don't know if it was going to do her justice, and I think both parties knew that. I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend. I don't want to play that, and I think they didn't want that either."

Ferreira on Deciding to Depart After Season 2: "I feel like with Season 2 and certain parts of it, I felt was a kind of a struggle for both parties. Sam [Levinson], me…it was a struggle to find the continuation of her. So that was actually really hurtful watching it and seeing the fans get upset. I just felt like maybe it's like I overstayed my welcome a little bit? So, for me, it actually felt good to be like, 'Okay, I get to not worry about this, and we both don't get to worry about this' because it's exhausting," Ferreira explained. As she saw it, Kat's story wasn't one that had a future for a very specific reason. "Sam writes for, like, things that he relates to. I don't think he relates to Kat. I like Kat, so I get to go on my own path. At first, I was like, 'Oh, my God, I'm a flop. I'm a loser.' It really has been a good thing."

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