Politics
Energy Crisis May Echo 70’s Oil Shock, Ex-BoE Deputy Says
The UK could be on the cusp of an energy crisis comparable to the chaos seen in the 1970s, according to a former deputy governor of the Bank of England.
Iran continues to restrict the number of oil tankers which can travel through the major shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation against the US-Israel strikes from last month.
As the conflict continues, the global economy is facing a period of uncertainty – and energy bills are expected to rise, pushing up the cost of living.
The government is considering supporting some energy bills for targeted households once the current energy price cap lifts in July.
As fears grow over what lies ahead, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir Howard Davies, suggested it was “probably right” to compare the current era to the crises we saw in the 1970s.
World oil prices soared at the time, triggered by the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The price of an oil barrel then quadrupled in a matter of months.
Arab oil-producing countries only ended their oil embargo against western nations after intense negotiations, though another crisis emerged in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution.
Davies compared that worldwide energy crisis to the current situation.
“In this case it could well be that supplies from the Middle East are constrained for some time and therefore we may have to live with a higher oil price – perhaps not $150, but certainly higher than $60 it was when we started,” Davies told BBC Radio 4′s Today.
“That requires a plan to increase alternatives and also to reduce consumption because it also looks like we may have a long term reduction in supply.”
Brent crude oil hit $116 per barrel on Monday morning.
Keir Starmer tried to prevent any panic buying from the public when speaking to the media on Monday.
The PM said the advice from the energy sector chiefs is “normal use, no need to do anything other than what’s normal”.
He added: “Obviously, we are bearing down on energy costs. The single most important thing we could do is de-escalate to get the Strait of Hormuz open.
“That’s why I’m putting so much effort into that aspect.”
A Downing Street spokesperson also said: “It’s obviously a serious conflict as the prime minister and the chancellor have said and they’ve been very clear that the impact of disruption to shipping and to the Strait of Hormuz is having an impact here in the UK, and households up and down the UK.”
He said the government’s focus is on working with international partners to de-escalate the situation and reopen the Strait.
Lee Anderson was thrown out of the House of Commons after accusing Keir Starmer of “lying”.
The Reform MP hit out at the prime minister as he came under pressure over the latest Peter Mandelson revelations.
Starmer insisted he was not told by Foreign Office civil servants that the shamed former Labour peer had failed security vetting before he made him the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
The PM said it was “staggering” that he and his ministers were kept in the dark.
But Anderson said: “The problem the prime minister’s got is no one believes him. The public don’t believe him, the MPs on this side of the house don’t believe him, his own gullible backbenchers don’t believe him.
“So does the prime minister agree with me he’s been lying?”
Accusing another MP of lying is banned in the Commons.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle told Anderson: “Sorry, we don’t use those words, and I’m sure the member’s withdrawn it.”
Anderson replied: “Mr Speaker, I have the greatest respect for you and your office, but I will not withdraw. That man couldn’t lie straight in bed.”
Hoyle said: “Mr Anderson, you’ll have to leave.”
In a post on X, Reform UK said Anderson had been “kicked out of parliament for telling the truth” about the prime minister.
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Six Just Stop Oil supporters were acquitted at Southwark Crown Court on 17 April. This comes two and a half years after they took part in a slow march on Waterloo Bridge to demand an end to new oil and gas licensing.
On 8 November 2023, Sheila Shatford, Julia Mercer, David Kilroy, Geraldine James, Rosalind Bird and Gregory Sculthorpe were among approximately 50 supporters who joined a slow march around the IMAX roundabout before heading north over Waterloo Bridge.
Police arrested them and charged them under Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023: interference with key national infrastructure. Police had only used this offence for the first time two days beforehand. It carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
The six appeared before Judge Hiddleston at Southwark Crown Court in a trial which had to restart after one of the original jury fell ill. The jury delivered its not guilty verdict after approximately six hours of deliberation.
Following the verdict, Geraldine James, 62, a retired child psychotherapist from Plymouth, said:
This is a great verdict and sends a message that the police overreached their powers by charging us with Section 7. We did not cause a significant delay. It serves our democracy ill to invent anti protest laws to be used against a nonviolent and purposeful movement.
I have no regrets. I took action on behalf of children everywhere; the house that they live in is on fire and my generation is responsible.
Despite ending new oil or gas licences our government is now solely focussed on silencing dissent while the climate catastrophe continues. These laws must be repealed.
Dave Kilroy, 66, a retired cabinetmaker from Plymouth, said:
We are pleased that the jury sided with our cause – however just like all other Just Stop Oil supporters we took action in an open and accountable way and would have accepted it if the decision had gone the other way.
And just to repeat why we took action – we oppose the use of fossil fuels and call on the government to rapidly decarbonise the economy – for all our sakes!
The trial
During the five day trial, the Judge denied the defendants all legal defences, including reasonable excuse and necessity, and ruled that agreed facts on climate were “irrelevant”. The defendants were, however, given around 20 minutes each to talk about their motivations for taking action.
The jury was asked to consider whether the defendants had caused a significant delay to other road users and if so whether that was their intention or they were reckless as to whether that would have been the result.
The police produced a compilation of video evidence showing the march and demonstrating some traffic build-up. But they offered no evidence of what normal traffic flow looks like at that location. Laura Stockdale, acting for Greg Sculthorpe, questioned whether the jury could be sure that this congestion was more than would normally occur on a weekday in central London.
She also suggested there would have been less delay if police had let the march continue to the other end of the bridge. And if police themselves hadn’t closed the southbound carriageway. DI Kevin Pender for the Metropolitan police responded that they couldn’t be sure what the marchers were planning to do.
Just Stop Oil supporters’ motivation
The defendants each emphasised their desire to draw attention to the climate crisis. They also spoke of the care and careful planning that went into undertaking a march. All denied that there was any intention to cause anything more than minor slowing of traffic.
In her defence evidence, Sheila Shatford spoke movingly of what inspired her to take action. This included remembering a childhood teacher whose family had been affected by the Aberfan disaster in which 116 children were killed. She said:
Only later did I understand that the slag heap belonged to the National Coal Board, and that warnings were given before the disaster, but no one listened.
She went on to recount how she had learned about the climate emergency and said:
I realised that it’s always the poorest and most vulnerable that are most affected and have the smallest voice. I read and found out the climate emergency was real – there is overwhelming evidence that it’s happening now, and very soon we won’t be able to stop it.
Then home secretary Suella Braverman introduced the 2023 Public Order Act specifically to target climate protest. It named groups such as Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil, and Insulate Britain as the reason for its introduction. Hundreds of Just Stop Oil supporters have had charges under Section 7 and are awaiting trial. But, because of the justice system backlog, this was only the second case before the courts since May 2024.
The first person convicted of the offence was Stephen Gingell. He got six months in jail after pleading guilty in December 2023.
In 2024, Just Stop Oil successfully won its original demand of ‘no new oil and gas’. And on 27 March 2025, it announced an end to the campaign of action. However, it promises that supporters will continue to tell the truth in court. They’ll also speak out for political prisoners and help build what comes next.
Featured image via Just Stop Oil
By The Canary
Arsenal’s meeting with Manchester City was framed as a season-defining test. Instead, it became a hard lesson in fine margins, a defeat that dulled Arsenal’s momentum and left supporters wrestling with the feeling of a chance slipping away.
Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta told press:
Today was a big opportunity but we still have five to go and there are a lot of positives to take from the game.
There’s an element of luck. The ball gets deflected to [Erling] Haaland. There’s that moment to be so cool, precise and ruthless, and you have to be that…
Today was a big opportunity, but we still have five to go and there are a lot of positives to take from the game.
City’s control, Arsenal’s missed rewards
From the opening minutes, Manchester City imposed their familiar rhythm, possession with purpose, pressure applied in waves, and the quiet threat that one error would be enough. Arsenal did not shrink. They pressed in spells and fashioned openings that could have rewritten the story, but football offers no credit for promise without finish.
The result also sharpened the enduring comparison between Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. It was not simply a tactical defeat; it read, to some, as another moment where Arteta’s project met the ceiling of its greatest reference point.
With a draw carrying real value in the context of the run-in, Arsenal’s approach felt bold, (perhaps too bold), when the table demanded restraint.
The Arsenal boss said:
We absolutely did that. Especially the way we ended the game. We could’ve been a bit more composed in certain moments. We took the game to certain areas we wanted.
Space, transitions, and the price of chasing
As Arsenal committed men forward, the game began to tilt into the terrain City relish: managed transitions, runners finding pockets, and opponents forced into rushed choices near the box. The bitter twist was that Arsenal still had enough moments to earn a different ending — one late pass, one cleaner strike, one earlier decision. Against City, waste rarely goes unpunished.
One hundred percent, we generated situations we believe we could generate. There’s even one where Kai [Havertz] is onside on the halfway…
We are on the level we are because this team has taken us there…When you have big chances, you need to put them away to come away with three points.
For supporters, the sting was not only the points; it was the doubt the night can plant. Title races are built on nerve as much as numbers. Losses like this can tighten a team in front of goal, turning instinct into hesitation. The stands feel that shift too, hope hardening into frustration unless the response is immediate.
Arsenal must refuse to become a pattern
Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard, delivered a rallying call after the match, affirming that the title race remains ”all to play for” despite rivals Manchester City seizing control in the title race.
“We have to keep going,” Odegaard stated, reflecting on the intense battle.
It was always going to go all the way to the end so we have to keep going, keep working hard and sticking together. We just look forward to the next game now and bounce back.
There is still time to salvage the season, but this match will linger because it offered so much and delivered so little. Opportunities were there, the margins were thin, and the consequence felt heavy: a reminder that the biggest games do not forgive uncertainty.
Featured image via AP Photo/ Dave Thompson
By Faz Ali
Politics
Politics Home | Keir Starmer Says It “Beggars Belief” Officials Withheld Information Over Peter Mandelson
(Alamy)
2 min read
Keir Starmer has said it “beggars belief” the Foreign Office withheld information over Peter Mandelson’s vetting failure.
The Prime Minister addressed MPs in the House of Commons on Monday after it came to light that Mandelson was appointed as US ambassador despite serious security concerns and failing vetting checks.
It has also emerged that the single biggest client of Mandelson’s ex-lobbying firm Global Counsel was linked to the Chinese army. Downing Street has said security concerns and vetting failures were not raised with them after Mandelson was appointed.
Starmer told MPs it was “astonishing” neither he nor his cabinet were informed about Mandelson prior to securing the job.
Starmer told the Commons: “I know many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible.”
“To that, I can only say they are right. It beggars belief that throughout the whole timeline of events, officials in the Foreign Office saw fit to withhold this information from the most senior ministers in our system in government.
“That is not how the vast majority of people in this country expect politics, government or accountability to work.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the prime minister of throwing “his officials and his staff under the bus” to save his job. Badenoch claimed she was holding the Prime Minister to the same standards Starmer had held Boris Johnson when he was the opposition leader during the Partygate scandal.
Badenoch also said Starmer’s “reputation” was “at stake”.
Starmer reiterated the claims that the Mandelson case “could and should have been shared with me before he took up his post.”
He added: “If I had known before he took up his post that UKSV recommendation was that developed vetting clearance should be denied, I would not have gone ahead with the appointment.”
Foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry asked whether ensuring Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador was a priority which overrode anything else, including security implications.
Starmer said the committee asked the relevant questions during evidence sessions, but said he would not have appointed him if concerns were raised with him.
Starmer responded: “If I had been told Peter Mandelson or anybody else had failed security, not given clearance on security vetting, I would not have appointed them.
“A deliberate decision was taken to withhold that material. This was not a lack of asking, this wasn’t an oversight. It was a decision taken not to share that information on repeated occasions.”
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson was removed from the chamber after using unparliamentary language, claiming the Prime Minister could not “lie straight in bed”.
Boy George has defended his participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that the former Culture Club frontman will be performing alongside San Marino’s entrant Senhit at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria.
For the last few years, the music event has been at the centre of controversy due to Israel’s continued participation, despite the ongoing conflict and unrest in the Middle East, with many calling for the country to be banned from competing, similarly to how Russia was excluded from the contest after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After it was confirmed by Eurovision bosses that Israel would be back at the event in 2026, five participation countries withdrew in protest, with many critics also calling for a boycott of the contest.
During a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Boy George was asked for his take on the boycott calls, and insisted that, to him, withdrawing would be akin to “turn[ing] my back on” the Jewish friends he’s had since his teen years.
He said: “I am so affiliated with Jewish people. I am not necessarily affiliated with Israel. I don’t really have an opinion on that. But the job of music is to unite people.”
On Ireland pulling out of Eurovision in solidarity with Palestine, George noted: “Ireland is my mother’s home country. I hope they’re not too angry. But if they are, that’s out of my control.”
Mark Case via Getty Images
In February, the Karma Chameleon singer wrote on X: “I love Israel too. Blaming an entire people is moronic. You can be against war and still love humanity.”
He added: “I have DJ’d in Tel Aviv a number of times. I hope I will in the future!”
George was later quoted as saying: “It’s very trendy to hate Israel, but I have always said ‘fashion for the fragile, style for the brave’.”
Two years ago, he also co-signed an open letter calling for Israel to remain a part of Eurovision, alongside the likes of Dame Helen Mirren, Sharon Osbourne and Scooter Braun.
It has been clear to most of the British population for some time that criticising Islam is a dangerous game. But one would still hope that the military would be allowed to talk more freely about the threats to our national security.
But apparently not. According to the Daily Mail, a Royal Air Force cadet has been suspended for describing Islam as ‘the greatest threat to the UK’ during a presentation at RAF Cranwell, shortly before Easter. An RAF spokesperson confirmed it was investigating an ‘alleged incident of inappropriate behaviour’, without providing any further information.
The cadet will no doubt be accused of failing to distinguish between Islam and Islamist terrorism. He failed, that is, to abide by the unwritten law of our age – to ‘respect’ the former, and at the same time insist that the latter has no connection whatsoever with the ‘religion of peace’. Either for failing to make this distinction, or for simply mentioning Islam at all, this young cadet will be hauled over the coals much the same way that Conservative MP Nick Timothy was last month, when he (correctly) characterised a mass Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square as an act of ‘domination’.
The response to Timothy’s comments was ominous, not least as a demonstration of just how perilous it has become to criticise Islam in the UK. But it was also predictable – Labour, desperate to recapture Muslim voters after its loss at the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, was always going to leap at the opportunity to label a political opponent as ‘Islamophobic’.
The treatment of the RAF cadet is in some ways a cause for greater concern. It is increasingly difficult to see where the ‘mainstream’ Islam ends and radical Islam begins in the UK (more than half of Britain’s mosques are run by the fundamentalist Deobandi movement). And radical Islam is by far the greatest security threat the country faces. If this fact can’t be acknowledged in the armed forces, then they are not doing their job.
The statistics support the cadet, not his inquisitors. In the past 20 years, Islamic extremists have killed 95 people in the UK. The ‘far right’ that we endlessly hear of has killed three. In 2020, it was reported that of the 43,000 extremists monitored by MI5, more than 90 per cent were Islamists.
Recent events bear this out. Who attacked the Heaton Park synagogue in October? Who allegedly set fire to four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green last month? Who was recently convicted for planning to gun down as many Jews as their ammunition allowed at a march against anti-Semitism in Manchester in 2024? It wasn’t the far right. It wasn’t someone who had been ‘radicalised’ by watching Tommy Robinson videos. It was Islamists or suspected Islamists in every case.
The inability to criticise Islam has had a chilling effect on freedom of speech in the UK and across the West. We can hardly be reminded enough that a British schoolteacher remains in hiding, under a new name, for showing pupils a drawing of Muhammad during a religious-studies class at Batley Grammar in 2021. Labour has even introduced a non-statutory definition of Islamophobia (rebranded as ‘anti-Muslim hostility’), which is effectively an Islamic blasphemy law in all but name.
Clearly, this timidity towards Islamism has now seeped deep into the nation’s institutions. The treatment of the RAF cadet is mirrored by the warped priorities of Prevent, the government body that is supposed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. In 2022, it was reported that just 16 per cent of referrals concerned Islamic extremism. Right-wing extremism, on the other hand, accounted for 20 per cent of its caseload.
The evasiveness around Islam must end. Every other country, it seems, is able to see that the UK has a problem with the nature of the Islam practised here. The United Arab Emirates now discourages students from studying in Britain because of the pervasive influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. That a Muslim country can identify a threat that the British authorities can’t, or won’t, hardly inspires optimism.
The Iran war may have exposed the decrepit state of the UK’s armed forces. But the treatment of the young cadet by the RAF suggests that the problem with the British Armed Forces runs deeper than a shortage of materiel. What is the good of having more warships or more troops, if a threat cannot be named?
The treatment of the Royal Air Force cadet is a scandal. The public has come to expect this kind of thought-policing in government bureaucracies, but it appears it’s now worked its way into the military, too. The price we might have to pay for this right-on censorship will be very high indeed.
Hugo Timms is a staff writer at spiked.
These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ singer Nancy Sinatra made it clear that Donald Trump was a heel, after the US president shared a video of her late father Frank Sinatra singing My Way.
Without explanation, Trump posted the vintage clip of the Chairman of the Board crooning the classic tune of a man looking back on his life without compromise on Saturday.
The posted prompted all kinds of speculation about the reasons behind it, but Nancy clearly wasn’t interested in the president’s motive.
She lamented: “This is a sacrilege.”
One person asked if Nancy could do anything about it, to which she replied, “Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers.”
Even that route may not prove fruitful, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“There’s a big difference between Trump using music at rallies or in ads, where a license is required, and merely sharing a video on social media,” the show business outlet wrote.
My Way is one of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ signature hits, but he didn’t sing the original version, Comme D’Habitude, previously performed in French (and co-composed) by Jacques Revaux.
Ron Galella via Getty Images
Nancy has made it clear in plain English that her father was no fan of the two-time president – and nor is she.
Last year, she responded to a commenter on X who wrote that the singing legend would vote for Trump if he were still alive.
“Not a chance,” Nancy said of her dad, who died in 1998 at the age of 82.
“You obviously don’t know my father at all. Do some homework before you post about him.”
Ron Galella via Getty Images
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, has presided over the opening of the University of East London’s (UEL) new Neighbourhood Health Hub in the London Borough of Newham – a pioneering partnership bringing healthcare closer to home through collaboration between the University, the NHS and local authorities.
The launch event at UEL’s Stratford Health Campus on 17 October brought together local leaders, health partners, students and residents to see how the Hub will transform access to health and wellbeing services in east London.
The Neighbourhood Health Hub plans to provide accessible, preventative, research-informed healthcare services for local residents, while offering hands-on training opportunities for students and professionals, both preparing to join and progressing further in the health and social care workforce. It combines clinical care, education and research under one roof – creating a model that supports healthier lives, reducing pressure on local GPs and hospitals, advancing digital innovation and offering students real-world experience in a prevention-first approach to healthcare.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said, “Where you live shouldn’t determine how long you live but that is the unjust reality in our capital today. A girl born in Newham will fall into ill health six years earlier than a girl born down the road in Kensington and Chelsea – this is a scandal which we are determined to end.”
“This groundbreaking neighbourhood health hub will bring healthcare closer to communities that need it most, providing a one-stop shop for health and care services on people’s doorsteps. It is a leading light of change we are making in the NHS, shifting its focus from hospital to community.
“By integrating care, education and innovation in one place, we’re not just treating illness – we’re preventing it, training the next generation of healthcare professionals, and bringing our analogue health service into the digital age.”
At the Hub, residents can access a wide range of practical, community-based health and wellbeing services, including:
- Physiotherapy, sports therapy and podiatry for injury recovery and mobility support
- Counselling and wellbeing sessions, including mindfulness and parenting support
- Health checks and screening for blood pressure, cholesterol and heart health
- Musculoskeletal therapy, a non-invasive technology that supports joint, muscle and bone health – with free sessions offered to eligible Newham residents as part of clinical trials
Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor & President, University of East London, said, “The Neighbourhood Health Hub is designed to be a ‘passport to good health’ for our community, reflecting three vital goals: helping families build healthy foundations from a young age; supporting people to stay active and in work; and reducing health inequalities for everyone in our community.
“The Neighbourhood Health Hub also gives our community access to free, high-quality services while offering students and practitioners transformative learning experiences that prepare them to make a difference from day one in the NHS.”
The Hub forms part of UEL’s expanding Stratford Health Campus, which also includes the University’s state-of-the-art Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub, opened by His Majesty King Charles III, and the forthcoming Academic Health Building. Together, these facilities are shaping a new model for healthcare education, research and service delivery in east London.
UEL is also developing a new, primary care-focused medical school, with its MBBS degree at the heart of the Stratford Health Campus. From 2027, and subject to General Medical Council (GMC) approval, the programme will train doctors for east London, from east London – widening access to medicine and strengthening the region’s healthcare workforce for generations to come.
Try as I might (and believe me, I’ve tried), I constantly manage to wake up hot and sweaty at 3am.
I’ve always attributed that to my insomnia. But hormone and sleep specialists have shared my issues might be partly down to my biology.
We know it’s crucial to keep bedrooms cool (experts recommend 16-18°C) to be able to sleep well – and this is perhaps even more important for women.
When a study found rising temperatures are impacting sleep globally, it also revealed women were impacted more than men. The Guardian noted “women’s bodies cool earlier in the evening than men’s when going to sleep, meaning higher night time temperatures may have a bigger impact on women”.
Women’s slightly higher core body temperatures can also make us “feel” external cold and warmth more intensely, Dr Karan Rajan previously shared.
Women appear to wake up overheated more often than men – but why?
Dr Renee Young, an endocrinologist and founder of the Young Naturopathic Centre For Wellness, told Pretty You London that “hormones like oestrogen and progesterone play a central role in how the brain regulates body temperature”.
She added: “Even slight fluctuations can confuse the body into thinking it needs to cool down. That often looks like a hot flush or a sudden sweat episode, especially at night.”
These are not exclusive to menopause or perimenopause, though both of these can lead to similar symptoms.
Clinical dietitian Dr Colleen Fogarty-Draper said it’s not just hormones, though.
“Women in midlife often have a lower stress threshold… Higher cortisol levels, especially when they don’t follow their normal rhythm, can interfere with sleep and make overheating worse,” she shared.
How can I stop overheating at night?
Though you might be tempted to take a cooling shower before settling down, NHS GP Dr Hana Patel said this may not be the answer.
“A cold shower can cause your body to generate more heat as a response,” she advised, while the cool-down period following a warm shower “tells your brain it’s time to sleep”.
Wearing thinner pyjamas, avoiding heavy bedding, and even keeping your partner out of your bed (if needed) may help, The Sleep Foundation said.
Whatever the cause, though, you should see your GP if your sleep is consistently interrupted.
“Menopause and hormonal changes don’t have to steal your sleep,” Dr Fogarty-Draper stressed. “When we understand the cause, we can take back control.”
Sydney Sweeney’s nude scenes in the new season of Euphoria were generating controversy before they’d even aired.
In the latest episodes of the award-winning US drama, Sydney’s character Cassie has turned to modelling on OnlyFans, as a way of paying for the flowers in her upcoming wedding to Nate (played by recent Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi).
Last week’s instalment saw Cassie posing in lingerie and dog accessories, which alarmed some viewers, as did a preview clip that included footage of the character posing in an “adult baby” outfit.
These latter shots were included in the latest episode of Euphoria, as part of a montage that saw Sydney’s character posing nude in a wet, see-through American flag, topless underneath American football gear and eating an ice cream which is dripping down her exposed breasts.
After episode two aired, many critics voiced their discomfort with the scenes, and the portrayal of Cassie in Euphoria’s latest outing.
“In season two, Cassie degraded herself for Nate,” one review in the New York Post said. “The show did seem to take too much pleasure in it. But, there was a larger point, as that story explored how a girl like Cassie can destroy herself for a toxic guy. That’s an experience that many viewers can relate to, or can recall witnessing.
“When Cassie dresses as a baby in season three, Euphoria isn’t saying anything thoughtful about a particular experience. It isn’t asking us to understand her behaviour. It’s making her a sordid punchline, to the point where it feels spiteful.”
Rolling Stone’s critic agreed: “Throughout the episode, it becomes clear that the narrative is mocking Cassie and other influencers-turned OnlyFans models […] But the show also leers at its women.
“There are close-up shots of coke on Angel’s breasts, melted ice cream on Cassie’s, and Katelyn spreading her legs out for the camera. I’m aware that depiction doesn’t equal endorsement. But one wonders what else writer-director Sam Levinson is doing this for, if not for shock value, because he seems confused about what he wants to say about sex work and women.”
Meanwhile, a piece in Slate with the headline “What Happened To Euphoria’s Cassie?” compared the character’s story arc to a “humiliation ritual for Sydney Sweeney”, claiming that the series’ “most pitiful character” has now “become the worst possible version of herself”.
Other outlets also included round-ups from viewers, calling the scenes “degrading” and “horrible”, while accusing the show of “going too far”.
Even the in-show voiceover provided by Zendaya, in character as Rue, describes Cassie as “beautiful, but directionless” and “so desperate for attention, she’s willing to humiliate herself”.
It’s worth stating, though, that not all of the press surrounding Sydney Sweeney and the latest episode of Euphoria has been negative.
A review in Variety described the Emmy nominee’s performance as “complicated and compelling”, while celebrating her “high-wire acting”.
In 2022, Sydney called out the “double standard” around the way male and female actors who have appeared nude on screen are treated.
She lamented to Cosmpopolitan: “I don’t think as many people took me seriously in Euphoria because I took my shirt off. There’s such a double standard. I really hope I can have a little part in changing that.”
Around this time she also told The Independent: “When a guy has a sex scene or shows his body, he still wins awards and gets praise. But the moment a girl does it, it’s completely different.”
During this interview, she also made it clear: “I’ve never felt like Sam [Levinson, Euphoria’s creator] has pushed it on me or was trying to get a nude scene into an HBO show. When I didn’t want to do it, he didn’t make me.”
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