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When Barbie Ferreira announced she wouldn’t be returning to play fan favourite Kat Hernandez for Euphoria‘s third season, the internet was awash with rumours for her exit from the hit HBO series, including that there was conflict with the show’s creator, Sam Levinson.
Now, seven months on, Ferreira has addressed the gossip head-on, saying that was really happened was far more civilised than @DeuxMoi submissions would have you believe.
While appearing as a guest on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert, the 26-year-old actress said that people have the idea she was a “victim to season 2” of Euphoria, which they assume prompted her to quit the series.
“So, 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,'” she explained, per Variety.
“I kind of got sucked into this drama that I never asked to be in and that I’ve never talked about.”
Ferreira added, “I’m of the mindset that if it doesn’t exit 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.”
There were also reports that Ferreira walked off the show’s set at one point during filming after an argument with Levinson about her character’s arc during season two. This, Ferreira says, never actually happened. “I actually did not walk off set,” she said. “I did sprain my ankle once and had to go get an X-ray. Maybe that’s what they mean?”
The real reason for Ferreira leaving Euphoria was that she didn’t think there was “a place” for Kat to go moving forward.
“I think there were places she could have gone,” she explained. “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.”
In the show’s first season, Kat was one of fans of the show’s favourite characters as a high school student who penned erotic fan fiction and became a part-time dominatrix, coming to love herself and her body and find confidence in the process.
In season two, however, fans noted a shift in Kat’s character arc that not only gave her less to do and included less screen time, but that had her feeling insecure and bad about her body, when her attitude prior had been vastly different — and vastly more inspiring to see on screen.
“I feel like with Season 2 and certain parts of it, I felt was a kind of a struggle for both parties,” she noted. “Sam, 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.” Levinson, Ferreira says, writes “things that he relates to.”
“I don’t think he relates to Kat,” she continued. “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.”
“For me, I actually felt good to be like, ‘Okay, I get to not worry about this and we both don’t get too worried about this,'” she said of leaving. “Because it’s exhausting.”
Thankfully, Ferreira will be back on screen soon, starring in the upcoming psychological thriller, House of Spoils.
