Euphoria's Chloe Cherry explains how "disgusting" balloon scene with Zendaya was filmed

16 April 2026, 16:41 | Updated: 16 April 2026, 19:27

Euphoria&squot;s Chloe Cherry explains how "disgusting" balloon scene with Zendaya was filmed — Euphoria's Chloe Cherry explains how "disgusting" balloon scene with Zendaya was filmed. Picture: Getty, HBO

By Sam Prance

Here's what the drug balloon props in Euphoria season 3 episode 1 actually were.

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Euphoria's Chloe Cherry has opened up about how she filmed the divisive season 3 drug balloon scene with Zendaya.

Euphoria season 3 episode 1 certainly left an impression on viewers. Between Faye's scene with the dog and Cassie's scene where she literally dresses up as a dog, fans certainly had opinions. On top of that, people were left disgusted by the scene where Faye and Rue swallow a bowlful of plastic fentanyl-filled balloons to smuggle them into the US.

Now, Chloe Cherry, who plays Faye, has explained what the balloons were really filled with and what it was like on set.

Read more: Euphoria season 3 slammed over "disgusting" Sydney Sweeney baby scene
Read more: Euphoria season 3 episode 1 horrifies viewers with “vile” Faye dog scene

Watch the trailer for the rest of Euphoria season 3

Speaking to Decider, Chloe said that Euphoria creator Sam Levinson wanted to gross viewers out with the scene.

Chloe revealed: "He was like, ‘I really, really, really need to see in the scene that it is absolutely disgusting to swallow these fentanyl balloons. Like, I need it to be just awful. I need people to just see that it is so disgusting and hard and horrible to do this'. And I’m hoping that people could see that."

Despite how it looks on screen, Chloe said it was "really fun" to shoot. She added: "I guess I just kind of imagined in my mind I was like, ‘What if I was really f---ing doing this? Like, what if I was actually doing this and I had to do it? How would I feel about it?’ I just think I would be disgusted."

She then admitted: "So yes, it is disgusting to swallow bags, balloons filled with fentanyl, even if the fentanyl is fake because we’re on a set. It is very gross."

Chloe Cherry as Faye in Euphoria's drug balloon scene. Picture: HBO

In a separate interview with TV Insider, Chloe let slip that she had to really lube up her throat for the scene. She said: "I was putting real KY Jelly into my mouth. It was a condom or a balloon or something and then they put something that just looks like a powder…"

She ended by saying: "It could have been anything. And then they just tied it up."