She may not have made much of an appearance in season two, but so much of the Euphoria discourse as of late has revolved around Barbie Ferreira. Barbie’s character, Kat, was central to season one; a complex young woman whose wallflower persona blossomed as she found liberation in online sex work. Her disappearance into the background and disappointing arc – one in which she primarily spends time faking a nondescript illness in order to avoid her boyfriend – led many to invest in the theory that there had been beef on set between Barbie and the show’s creator Sam Levinson.
“When people ask me about season two, they come at me like I was some sort of victim,” the actor told Armchair Expert host Dax Shephard this week. “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. Don’t believe everything you read.”
In the new interview, Barbie says that her and Sam Levinson came to “mutual decision” to end their working relationship together, calling the second season a “struggle” for both of them apparently due to a lack of viable storylines for her character. “Sam writes for things that he relates to,” she said. “I don’t think he relates to Kat. I like Kat, so I get to go on my own path.”
However, said Barbie, “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.”
It had been rumoured that Barbie left the set of the show over disagreements with Sam about Kat’s storyline, fuelled by the fact that Barbie didn’t show up to the show’s premiere. HBO have denied these rumours, but they’ve also been dealing with a Daily Beast report that highlighted a number of those aforementioned issues, including 17-hour-long days, and later allegations that cast members couldn’t use the bathroom when needed.
HBO released an official statement regarding this. “The well-being of cast and crew on our productions is always a top priority,” it read. “The production was in full compliance with all safety guidelines and guild protocols. It’s not uncommon for drama series to have complex shoots, and COVID protocols add an additional layer. We maintain an open line of communication with all the guilds, including SAG-AFTRA. There were never any formal inquiries raised.”
Barbie also addressed the Daily Beast’s report in her Armchair Expert interview, clarifying one point in particular: “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?”
So while there are many indications that the Euphoria set was a messy place to be (Jacob Elordi once said the night shoots for the New Year’s Eve shoot were “hell”, but worth it), it seems that no rules were strictly broken. Barbie is already moving on to bigger, scarier things. And to Kat, our beloved fanfic-writing camgirl, we bid a bittersweet farewell. Goodbye Kat, you were too good for the halls of this bizarro high school anyway.