Barbie Ferreira is no drama queen when it comes to her shocking departure from “Euphoria.”
The actress, who portrayed Kat Hernandez in the first two seasons of the hit HBO series, recently set the record straight about her exit from Sam Levinson’s teen drama — and put to bed rumors that her exodus was anything but amicable.
“I think it was very mutual so it wasn’t just my choice,” Ferreira, 28, explained on Wednesday’s episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “There was just nowhere to go and I think instead of me just lingering around for nine months, I think it was best for both of us that we just kind of ended it there.”
“But you don’t want to ruin a good thing,” she continued. “Everyone decided there was nowhere to go and that’s hard, obviously. Again, with acting, things happen all the time and you have to have a thick skin and just make the right decisions for you and your career.”
She also insisted there was no behind-the-scenes drama that led her to walk off the “Euphoria” set – despite rumors of a “hellish” and “toxic” work environment, which HBO addressed in 2022.
“I never walked off set, there was never anything like that,” Ferreira clarified. “I absolutely never did that. You could ask the hundreds of people who were there every day.”
During the podcast episode, Ferreira revealed that she is still friendly with her former castmates – including Hunter Schafer, Maude Apatow and Sydney Sweeney.
Some have even gone to see Ferreira perform on Broadway in her most recent project, “Cult of Love.”
“I saw Hunter the other day, I saw Maude the other day, Sydney came to see my play,” she shared. “So I mean they’re all so busy. I mean, I’ve been out of town for, like, eight months so I’m like, whoever is in town, we always try to see each other and they came to support the play, which was really sweet.”
Besides discussing her surprising departure from “Euphoria,” Ferreira also opened up about the death of her former co-star, Angus Cloud.
Cloud passed away in July 2023 from an accidental drug overdose. He was 25.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been through anything like that,” Ferreira confessed. “We all were just really affected by it.”
“Angus was the coolest guy, the craziest dude, the amount of stories…I think about him a lot,” she added. “He was incredible. He was a complete sweetheart, a character. It’s really tragic.”
Ferreira announced her exit from “Euphoria” in August 2022 via an Instagram post that took fans of the show by complete surprise.
“After four years of getting to embody the most special and enigmatic character Kat, I’m having to say a very teary-eyed goodbye,” she wrote at the time.
“I hope many of you could see yourself in her like I did and that she brought you joy to see her journey into the character she is today,” the actress added. “I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez.”
Ferreira later opened up about her abrupt departure in more detail.
“I don’t think there was a place for her to go,” she said in April 2023.
“I think there were places she could have gone. I just don’t think it would have fit into the show,” Ferreira continued. “I don’t know if it was going to do her justice, and I think both parties knew that I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend.”
“I don’t want to play that,” she concluded, “and I think they didn’t want that either.”
Despite rumors “Euphoria” was canceled after its long hiatus, HBO confirmed last month that the show was officially back in production. Season 3 is expected to premiere next year.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
