Euphoria star Nika King might play Rue’s mum Leslie on the show, but her own mother is “clowning” her after discovering in real time that her scenes were cut from season three episode six. The latest episode of the series landed on HBO Max on Sunday, May 17th, and much of the focus is on Rue as she expresses hope for redemption. Caught between dangerous drug traffickers and the DEA, she seeks a moment of peace at a nearby church. While there, Rue receives a call from her mum and answers, assuming it’s the DEA agents (remember, they had her save their number as “mom” to avoid suspicion). But much to Rue’s surprise, it’s her actual mother. Leslie has been largely absent from Euphoria season three due to the emotional toll Rue’s addiction has had on her, although she still checks in from time to time. For actress Nika King, the latest episode was due to be her big return to the show and she’s been hyping it up on her socials, sharing clips from past episodes and asking questions like, “Did Leslie stand on business or nah?” in relation to season three episode seven. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nika King (@iamnikaking) So when King and her mum tuned in last night, you can imagine their shock to discover that a majority of her scenes had been cut. All we see is Rue having a conversation on the phone, before cutting to a 20-second segment of Leslie, during which she simply says, “I love you Rue.” Nika King is getting ‘clowned’ by her mum over the cut Euphoria scenes Clearly, King didn’t get the memo, as she took to Instagram last night to respond. Through fits of laughter, she said, “Wait y’all. I just watched my episode that I’ve been promoting all week, and my mom over here clowning me. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nika King (@iamnikaking) “My mom is clowning me. She said the internet waited all this time for me to just say one line.” You can hear King’s mother in the background asking “What happened?” before brutally saying “Three years” (as in, it’s been three whole years between seasons two and three, and all she gets is this one-line, 19-second scene). “I can’t do nothing but laugh at it. When your mama clown you, it’s… I don’t know,” King continued, before her mum chimed in, “What you want me to say? You ain’t had nothing to say.” Savage. King finished by joking, “Who needs enemies when you have a mother like this? You better be glad I have a sense of humour. You better be glad I got thick skin.” Her mom added, “I’m just getting you ready for what’s coming.” We would’ve preferred Leslie over… toilet noises Credit: HBO The topic of cut scenes has been a big talking point amid the release of Euphoria season three, particularly as promo materials appeared to feature sequences that didn’t ever get aired. For instance, one clip showed Lexi dancing with a potential love interest during Cassie and Nate’s wedding, but this didn’t make the final cut. A number of fans have expressed frustration over this, especially when Cassie’s OnlyFans plot and other more explicit moments have received so much screentime. Similarly, the online community has some thoughts about King’s scenes being cut. Over on Reddit, one wrote, “Would have preferred this over having to hear Faye’s literal sh*t sounds on the toilet.” Another pointed out the fact that King was seen breaking down her performance in the behind-the-scenes featurette. “And then they kept her in the BTS talking about her performance that wasn’t in the episode,” they said. A third added, “I thought it was so weird to have that conversation be totally one-sided without us able to hear her lines. After not seeing her mom at all this whole season, it would have been nice to at least get THAT.” Others are sharing praise for King’s response, with one writing, “A different actress would be crashing out, but I respect her for handling it with grace and humour.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: HBO/Instagram/Nika King Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
