Grim truth behind Zendaya's Euphoria scene so 'disgusting' it left the entire crew stunned
Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction, which some readers may find distressing.
It feels like an age since Euphoria was last on our screens, and you only have to look at how the profiles of stars like Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney have risen to realize it's been a hot minute since we spent time with Sam Levinson's hit series.
Euphoria has never been afraid of controversy, but following the launch of HBO Max in the UK, and with the TV series being one of its flagship shows, it's back with a bang.
With Euphoria tackling everything from sexual assault to drug use, the young cast has been put through the wringer in terms of nudity and having to take part in some pretty harrowing scenes. That's nothing compared to the season 3 premiere, and with this reported to be Euphoria's last run of episodes, it's potentially going out with some of its biggest shocks yet.
Why is Euphoria season 3's drug balloon scene accused of going too far?
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At the core of Euphoria is Zendaya's Ruby "Rue" Bennett and her struggles with drug addiction.
This is hammered home in April 12's "Ándale", which is streaming now and picks up five years after Rue looked like she was going to stay clean while looking forward to a brighter future. Things have taken a turn since then, and after appearing sporadically in season 2, Chloe Cherry's Faye Valentine is set to have a much bigger part this time around.
With Rue owing a huge debt to a former schoolteacher turned drug dealer called Laurie (Martha Kelly), she's forced to become a drug mule and swallow balloons full of Fentanyl.
Discussing that shocking scene, Cherry told Metro: "Sam came up to me, and he said, 'I need this scene to really show how disgusting it would actually be if you were to swallow balloons filled with fentanyl and how disgusted you would actually be.'
"He was like, 'I really, really, really, really, really need you to turn the disgust up in this scene,' and I was like, all right, I'm gonna give it a go."
Saying she managed to pull it off, Cherry admits the crew was just as shocked as she was about how it turned out: "When we stopped shooting, everybody clapped. I'm not even kidding, the whole crew clapped for me. They were so amazed at how disgusting I made that scene."
While harrowing enough to watch and being 'too far' for some, there's a tragic truth behind Rue and Faye's story. In one piece of narration, Rue tells the audience: "The danger of body-packing is if a balloon breaks, you die." This is intercut with a woman collapsing at an airport and then doctors being shown washing the blood of a stash of balloons inside her body.
How real is Euphoria season 3's drug balloon scene?
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, this illicit drug trade is every bit as lethal as Euphoria portrays it as. Telling the story of 'DJ', she's apparently one of the one million people who are trafficked in this kind of trade every year.
UNODC explains how victims are force-fed balloons that are made with multilayered condoms. Condoms are opened up with a special machine, and the drugs are funnelled into them. In order to swallow up to 120 balloons, they're often given an oily soup that's laced with drugs to help numb their throats, or have their mouths sprayed with anesthesia. The procedure is still painful, which can lead to serious throat injuries, but this is just half the story.
When these mules reach their destination, they're typically fed laxatives and pass the balloons through their system. There's the obvious danger of balloons rupturing, with stomach acid known to break through the latex.
Telling her story, DJ said: "I was forced to swallow 86 balloons and taken to the airport. At the airport, one of the victims became very ill. She said to me that a balloon containing the drugs had popped in her body. She collapsed right there. It all happened so fast."
Admitting she watched an innocent girl die, DJ concluded: "It was painful and especially when you have drugs inside you. I was crying and didn't know whom to turn to for help. The flight attendants were unhelpful because they thought I was drunk, so I had no choice but to keep shut. I went through a lot of pain and torture. I was petrified."
Even though Rue escapes this grim fate, Euphoria was at least praised for its raw representation of how this harrowing trade is conducted.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.