Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya have been friends for a long time, and their friendship has only grown stronger as co-stars on Euphoria. Sweeney was hesitant about the nudity required for her role as Cassie Howard, but she ultimately decided to take the chance, and it paid off with tremendous critical and audience appraisal for her performance. Despite the show’s sky-high success and recognition for her performance, there is a significant wage difference between Sweeney and Zendaya, with Zendaya earning about twice as much. Given that Zendaya is not only the main lead but also the executive producer, it may be fair for all her hard work.
Sydney Sweeney’s Euphoria Journey
Sweeney initially had doubts about the nudity required for her role in Euphoria but convinced herself by thinking about how a 17-year-old girl would behave in that situation. She believed that Euphoria tells a certain story, and to bring justice to that realness, she needed to think like the people who are actually going through it. Zendaya, who plays Rue Bennett in the show and is also an executive producer, believes that the show’s writer Sam Levinson put words to feelings that people have a hard time vocalizing, be it depression or other mental health issues.
Sydney Sweeney’s Euphoria Income
According to a report from February 2023, the difference between Sydney Sweeney’s and Zendaya’s wages is quite significant, with Zendaya expected to earn around $1 million per episode as the headliner and executive producer, while Sweeney earned just over a third of that amount. Sweeney’s income from all 13 episodes combined is about $325 thousand from the two seasons of the show. Given the huge gap in the upcoming season alone and Zendaya’s status as the executive producer, she is expected to have made at least twice the amount that Sweeney has. It will be interesting to see if such a significant wage gap persists in later seasons, especially as filming for the third season, rumored to take the show five years into the future, is expected to start soon.
