‘Sam Levinson points a stark-truth lens at whatever scene he’s doing’: Hank Azaria addresses controversy on the set of ‘The Idol’

Love it or hate it, the HBO show The Idol is getting a lot of attention, and a lot of it is not good. On top of a nine percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (the lowest ever for an HBO show), the show’s also mired in controversy over its misogynistic and lascivious content. Hank Azaria, who plays the long-suffering manager of Lily Rose-Depp’s Jocelyn, Chaim, recently spoke out on the issues in a TV interview.

Azaria appeared on the TODAY show and defended director Sam Levinson and his proclivities when filming. “Sam goes for it,” he said. “He points a stark truth lens at whatever scene he’s doing whether it’s professional, personal, about the business, about relationships, about sex.”

That’s what “we were doing” on that set, he said, and all of the actors were really excited about the collaborative vibes. One of the hosts then tells Azaria that TODAY reached out to Levinson for comment on the ongoing controversy surrounding the show and were told he wasn’t going to comment.

“No because they left me here to do it,” Azaria quipped. He referenced a Rolling Stone piece that referred to “the chaotic nature” of the set and said things were “haphazard and crazy.”

“That I can tell you is ridiculous.” He said it would be like walking onto a Larry David set where “brilliant folks are being encouraged to improvise” under a director’s caring eye with audibles being called and then saying “oh, the actors just don’t know their lines.”

Azaria said he understands how “certain people could feel that way,” and even admitted he felt that way the first couple of days on set because a lot of changes were being made on the fly. Sometimes things were changed based on the “light we were shooting in” or “how the script was changing,” but he said it was “incredibly creative” and “wonderful. Really.”

The actor said he’s been in projects where you get new pages on scripts and they’re so disappointing and you wish changes weren’t made, but this was nothing like that. Allegations of safety issues are also false, he said.

The Idol airs Sundays on Max.