‘That was certainly not mine’: Lily-Rose Depp denies ‘The Idol’ was influenced by her own upbringing

Following a heavily-publicized marketing push that included such wildly disparate elements as a scathing article trashing the series from top to bottom, strong rebuttals from the key creatives, a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, an absolute thrashing from critics, a pounding from social media users, and disappointing viewing figures, The Idol has enjoyed plenty of ups and downs already.

It’s precisely as bad as everyone was telling you it was going to be, with virtually nothing about Sam Levinson’s latest HBO original proving to be worthy of praise or hype. Lily-Rose Depp has repeatedly been coming under fire for her fairly unconvincing central performance, which of course ties neatly into the ongoing nepo baby conversation that’s been enjoying a sustained stint in the spotlight.

However, given that her character Jocelyn is somebody essentially forced into the world of the performing arts by familial peer pressure, many have wondered if her approach was semi-autobiographical in a way given her status as the daughter of fallen A-list superstar Johnny Depp and singer/actress/model Vanessa Paradis. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, though, she sought so shut that down immediately.

“The backstory that we thought about a lot for Jocelyn is that she’s somebody who’s been working basically since she could talk. She was a child actress, she had a mother who was really pushy in that way and really kind of bred her to be this trained performer, and that was her upbringing. That was certainly not mine.

I mean, my parents definitely did their best to give my brother and I the most ‘normal’ childhood that we could have. Obviously, still not totally normal, but a sense of normalcy at least, and a sense of childhood and freedom and play and everything. So our childhoods are quite different. Of course, experiencing this industry from a young age, there’s obviously pieces of that that help me understand maybe Jocelyn’s perspective a little bit better, but still, definitely coming from different places.”

Regardless of whether or not she drew on her own experiences, Lily-Rose is at least following the well-trodden path of her father by courting controversy already, even if the headline-grabbing in the former’s case has been about nothing but The Idol‘s onscreen antics than anything unfolding away from the cameras.