News Euphoria HBO Viral Zendaya

Zendaya reveals her ideal ending for Rue in Euphoria as viewers slam series finale

She's been radio silent throughout season three

Oreoluwa Adeyoola
2nd June 2026, 11:06
Add as preferred source on Google
Add as preferred source on Google

The finale for Euphoria season three has left a lot of viewers feeling conflicted, and now a resurfaced interview clip of Zendaya’s ideal ending for Rue has gone viral.

From the start of Euphoria, actress Zendaya has been deeply involved in the project. Creator Sam Levinson collaborated with her to write the intricacies of Rue’s character, and she’s credited as a producer for the first two seasons.

But in season three, Zendaya took a noticeable step back from the series. She’s no longer a producer and has stayed out of press interviews or behind-the-scenes content. There have been rumours that the actress and Sam Levinson disagreed over the show’s direction, which grew louder after Rue’s tragic ending.

It seems like Zendaya wanted a way happier ending for Rue. In an interview recorded before the filming of season three, she shared what her ideal story for Rue would be.

“I want… to get to the end, and still have hope for her future and watch her make the changes and steps to heal and humanise her sobriety journey and her addiction,” the actress said.

“Then maybe [viewers] can extend that to people in real life. If you can love her, than you can love someone you know who is struggling with the same thing, and maybe have a greater understanding for the pain that they’re facing, that is often out of their control.”

She highlighted that Rue’s character for her is supposed to be a symbol of hope for addicts, and a character which helps non-addicts understand the complex struggle of addiction.

“For me, that is the most important thing, and I care about her deeply and I also care about the people who care about her,” Zendaya continued. “Many of them share her story of addiction and sobriety, many of them share her emotional disorders and I think it’s important that we continue to have that love for her.”

She concluded: “Rue just needs to find the good in herself and remember she’s still worthy of beautiful things or doesn’t deserve a beautiful life.”

This ending is completely different to the tragic murder we witness in season three. Zendaya is yet to comment on her thoughts of the series finale, despite almost a decade working on Euphoria.

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image via HBO