Labrinth has explained his departure from Euphoria season three, saying he will not “let people treat me like shit”.
The long-awaited third season of the HBO show is launching tomorrow night (April 12), but Labrinth revealed last month that he would not be contributing to the score, despite being closely associated with both previous seasons.
The musician, real name Timothy Lee McKenzie, hit out at the industry, his record label and Euphoria itself, writing in a since-deleted Instagram post: “I’M DONE WITH THIS INDUSTRY”.
“FUCK COLUMBIA. DOUBLE FUCK EUPHORIA. I’M OUT. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT X,” he added.
Now, Labrinth has further clarified his comments with a follow-up post on his Instagram Stories. “People will comfortably lie in this industry and still call themselves honest people,” he wrote today (April 11). “So no cap, I decided to remove whatever music I had in [Euphoria]. I spoke to HBO, as far as I know, we are cool. I left because, last truth, when I work for someone, their vision is paramount to me. But I don’t let people treat me like shit.”
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson responded to Labrinth’s original post, calling him an “incredible collaborator” and being the “foundation of the sound” of the show, while saying he didn’t know why he had made the decision to leave.
Labrinth won an Emmy for his song ‘All For Us’, written for the show’s first season, and his other tracks for the series have included the Billie Eilish collaboration ‘Never Felt So Alone’.
Returning to screens for the first time since 2022, the cast of the hit show are no longer in high school in season three, but instead traversing the various issues of adult life, including Rue (Zendaya) getting in trouble with the law. The season premieres on Sunday (April 12) on HBO Max (plus Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK), but will have a special screening on the same day at Coachella. HBO has also shared the opening episode’s first five minutes, which you can watch above.
Zendaya has also hinted during an interview that this season may be the last, which has been heavily rumoured for some time.
Speaking about her experience on the show in general, she said she was “proud” of what she achieved and that the series. “Rue taught me so much about life,” she explained. “That crew has also seen me grow up. I owe so much to that show. Rue taught me so much about empathy and redemption. I’m very grateful for all of it.”
