The Truth About Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya’s Feud: Euphoria Drama Explained

Written By Angela & Alana

Fans have waited what felt like a lifetime for Season 3 of Euphoria to drop after the long shadow left by Season 2.

Season 2 was released in 2022, and Season 3 came out four years later, in April 2026. Beyond raising the issue of how show runners can hurt a series by stretching seasons years apart, it’s also sparked conversation about how awkward the Euphoria cast now seems.

Back then, they were rising stars; now they’re leading films, launching brands, and living entirely different lives.

That kind of career glow-up is great for them, but it makes slipping back into the same messy high school chaos feel a little forced.

Someone said, “This upcoming season feels like when K-pop stars have to do military service.”

this cracked me up

You got Sydney Sweeney in pigtails, sitting stretched out pretending to be a baby with a pacifier in her mouth. (um… wtf)

You got Jacob Elordi, a now Oscar nominee, saying the lines, “you’ve been a bad, bad dog.”

You got the latest Ozempic victim, Alexa Demie, on the red carpet looking completely unrecognizable.

Speaking of red carpets, Zendaya showed up, posed, and left.

She made sure to make a statement to the fans and the Euphoria cast by not taking pictures, doing interviews, or going to the after-party with the cast.

Her statement? I don’t eff with the show runner or Sydney.

You can see how Zendaya and Sydney avoid/ignore each other on the red carpet.

You can also see Zendaya quickly saying hello to the show runner before running off the red carpet. Fans made jokes that she ran before he could ask for a photo.

I asked my source what the beef is between these two, since it seems to be a public fact at this point.

Two young actresses who were once friends and praised each other are now avoiding each other like the plague. So what happened?

“They have never liked each other from the start. Sometimes you just don’t vibe with someone you work with, and that’s all it is. They were tolerating each other enough and were friendly at the beginning, but tensions kept rising between them.” — my source.

My source says that Zendaya and Sydney are two completely different girls. They wouldn’t have lasted as friends because of their morals, political beliefs, and upbringing.

“Zendaya doesn’t like Sydney. She finds her a bit trashy. She also doesn’t like her political stance at all and finds her politics disrespectful. She thinks Sydney has no self-respect and, in turn, doesn’t respect her. Sydney, meanwhile, doesn’t like Zendaya either and is jealous of her, jealous that she’s well-liked by both the public and Hollywood.” —my source

As many of you know, Sydney is a registered republican who comes from a family of Trump supporters.

This is Sydney at her mother’s (maga themed?) birthday party.

I don’t know how anyone with a brain can support Trump, but we move.

Zendaya doesn’t support Sydney’s political beliefs, and Sydney, feeling called out, is doing that ignorant thing of “w-w-why can’t we get along even if we have different political beliefs?”

This is her reaction to being called out after the Jean Ad drama for American Eagle

“Zendaya is so over the hype given to overrated white women. She knows she worked hard to be taken seriously and get the respect she has now. To Zendaya, Sydney is someone who has no morals when it comes to men and opportunities. That includes showing off her features or acting in a certain way to get the attention of producers, directors, and more. Zendaya definitely carries herself better.” —my source

All of this makes sense. I think over the past year or two, we have all been disappointed by some of Sydney's recent moves.

The Jean Ad, the response she gave towards the backlash of it, the political vibe that earned her the title of “MAGA Barbie,” dating Scooter Braun, creating a soap that contained her bath water, and the constant appeal to men.

She is spiritually Cassie Howard.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good and be perceived as sexy, but I think where she goes wrong is that she tries to do things specifically for the “male point of view.”

Sydney likes to be picked, and what better way to be picked than to have a bunch of conservative men telling you, you’re the master race. It’s why the link between the jean ad and subtle hints of eugenics didn’t seem to bother her as much, and she dismissed it as people taking a jean ad out of proportion.

Sydney’s response to the Jeans drama showcased that she didn’t at all care what type of racist innuendos she was playing at, initially saying it "didn't affect me one way or the other… I did a jean ad...”

To me, Sydney just seems like someone who enjoys all types of attention, including controversial attention.

On top of that, she diminishes the attention, saying she doesn’t ask for it, yet does things to provoke it.

“Sydney wants to be fawned over by men, and she wants to be a Hollywood sex symbol. Zendaya just doesn’t align with anything Sydney’s doing and truthfully can’t stand her.” —my source

My source says that while all of this goes into why Zendaya and Sydney don’t like each other, it’s not the main factor of what went down.

“The majority of their issues stem from the showrunner preferring Sydney over Zendaya. While those two never fully vibed from the start, Sam Levinson made things worse. He prefers Sydney because of the way she carries herself, to be a fantasy for the male viewer. This is what makes Zendaya double down on her issue with Sydney.” —my source

Sam Levinson with the cast of Euphoria

My source says that Sam is extremely stubborn about how the show should go, not wanting to take any advice from anyone else. The show is entirely in his own vision.

“The thing about Sam is that he is very intense, and not a lot of people like that. He is on his own timing with the show, which caused issues with some of the cast, including Zendaya. He usually gets what he wants in the end, doesn’t care to take anyone’s advice on what he’s doing, and so, for the most part, the entire show is in his vision.” — my source

He is more accommodating towards Sydney because he prefers her. It’s why Sydney has a bigger role in Euphoria.

“Zendaya is usually very well-liked on set, and people have a good time working with her. Sydney can be a little 50/50. She has more demands as a new ‘star’ and can be a bit difficult to work with. During season 1 of Euphoria, Zendaya was the main name, and so she got paid the most. Now that Sydney has some star power, she’s been vocal about Zendaya getting paid more than her. ” —my source

My source says that Sydney cares too much about getting validation from men, and she’s the type of girl who would flirt with your boyfriend just for the thrill and attention.

“I won’t be surprised if it gets revealed that deep down, Sydney is just an extremely insecure girl.” —my source

This goes hand in hand with what the media is reporting about Sydney allegedly flirting with Tom Holland when he would come visit Zendaya on set.

Regarding the truth of Sydney having the “hots” for Tom Holland, my source doesn’t know how true that is, agreeing that Sydney enjoys male attention.

“I can see Sydney flirting with Tom just to tick Zendaya off. Sydney actively wants to be seen as an iconic Hollywood sex symbol who drives men crazy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was flirting with Tom the same way she was flirting with Glenn Powell.” — my source

According to fan theories, Sydney had liked tweets about Tom after he got back together with Zendaya.

According to fans, when an interviewer asked the cast about Tom joining them, Sydney joked, saying he should be on Euphoria to “save them.”

So there you have it!

Quick recap: Zendaya and Sydney really don’t like each other, and their issues have been mainly covered by the media. Political beliefs, morals, and overall character traits do not align.

Sam Levinson, the showrunner and WRITER of Euphoria, prefers Sydney over Zendaya. Sydney loves male attention and feeds into it.

Now I’m going to do what I’ve done in the past and catch up on season 3 of Euphoria via tiktok because you really can’t pay me to watch that show fully.

Excited to see what nonsense Sam Levinson comes up with.

He has been accused of using his position to write scenes that degrade women and play into a male fantasy. Just based on what we see with Sydney’s character, I’d have to say I agree.

What do you guys think about Euphoria and this beef between Zendaya and Sydney? Leave your comments down below!

Hope you enjoyed!

Where to find or contact us:

Angela & Alana

We are sisters who uncover the truth in Hollywood, one scandalous post at a time.

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