Photographer Petra Collins Claims She Created The “Whole World” Of ‘Euphoria’ Before She Was Fired By HBO – But Sam Levinson Used Her Ideas Anyway

Photographer and director Petra Collins, who rose to fame on the internet for her signature style, accused Euphoria creator Sam Levinson of using her ideas for the show despite HBO firing her for being “too young.”

In a resurfaced interview from earlier this year, Collins claimed Levinson approached her about directing Euphoria, prompting her to move to Los Angeles to help develop the show.

“He reached out my agency and told [me], ‘I wrote a show based on your photos. Will you direct it?'” she said according to screenshots of the interview, which was translated from Hungarian to English. She claimed she worked for HBO for approximately five months under the impression that she would be directing the series.

“I created a whole world for it, I did the casting, whatever, and [at] the last minute HBO was like, ‘We are not hiring you because you are too young,'” she alleged.

She called herself “naive” for believing at the time that they wouldn’t use her “version of the show… they’ll just do another one.” But a year later, she saw a billboard for the show that she said looked like “a copy of my work.”

“I started crying, I was so shocked,” she admitted. “I mean it happens to me so many times in my career, but not on a scale like that.”

And she wasn’t the only one to notice the similarities between Euphoria and her style of work.

“The worst thing was when people were unknowingly saying this show looks like your work,” she said.

Collins rose to fame as a photographer for the now-defunct independent teen outlet Rookie Mag. Her photography’s hazy, dream-like style became her calling card and catapulted her into the world of fashion and editorial photography. She said the noticeable similarities between Euphoria and her work drove her to develop a whole new style.

“That series was an exorcism to me,” she said. “I had to change my style because of Euphoria. Lots of people started to take photos in that style and I haven’t felt any more as mine and I felt disconnected from that. I need to find myself again.”

Decider reached out to reps for Collins and HBO for comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.

Levinson did not respond to Decider’s request for comment. But a source close to Levinson recently denied Collins’ allegations, telling The Daily Beast, “It’s very widely known that Euphoria is a remake of an Israeli show. As a fan of hers, [Sam] was hoping there was a possibility they could work together in that way. But by no means was anything promised. That wouldn’t have even been possible for him to do because ultimately it’s the network’s decision.”

This isn’t the first accusation Levinson has faced regarding his work. Earlier this year, a damning Rolling Stone report featuring interviews from crewmembers who worked on The Idol accused Levinson and musician Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye of overhauling director Amy Seimetz‘s vision for the series, turning it into a “rape fantasy.”

The Idol was eventually canceled after one controversial season on HBO.

Collins has since continued directing. She recently directed three of Olivia Rodrigo‘s music videos, all of which have been praised for their unique visual elements.

Euphoria also appears to have reached a standstill due to the writers strike, but it has been tentatively scheduled for a 2025 release.

Levinson recently revealed his vision for Euphoria Season 3, describing it as a “film noir” that, through Zendaya’s character Rue, will “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world.”