"I really wanted to be able to not be the fat best friend," she says, while also reacting to reports she walked off set before leaving the show.
"Euphoria" fan favorite Barbie Ferreira shocked everyone when she announced her exit from the show last year. Now, viewers are getting some insight into why she stepped away from the show following its second season.
While her character Kat Hernandez was a central character on the HBO show's first season -- with an arc about her side-hustle as a cam girl -- she was sidelined in Season 2.
Speaking with Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast this week, Ferreira made it clear there was a "mutual" decision between her and series creator Sam Levinson her to leave the show, while she also denied reports she walked off set during filming.
Barbie Ferreira Addresses Kat's 'Mysterious' Behavior on Euphoria Season 2
View Story"So, for me, when people ask me about season two, it's usually they come at me with, like, I was some sort of victim to season two and I'm always like, 'No, it's okay, promise. It's good,'" she clarified. "I actually did not walk off set. I did sprain my ankle once and had to go get an X-ray. Maybe that's what they mean?"
Of her character, she said she just thinks there wasn't "a place for her to go" next that would make sense for the series.
"I think there were places she could have gone. I just don't think it would have fit into the show. 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," she added. "I don't want to play that, and I think they didn't want that either."
She added that she does feel like the show's second season "was kind of a struggle for both parties," referring to her and Levinson. "It was a struggle to find the continuation of her," she added, saying it was "actually really hurtful" to see "the fans get upset."
"I just felt like, maybe it's like I overstayed my welcome a little bit? So, for me, I actually felt good to be like, 'Okay, I get to not worry about this and we both don't get too worried about this,' because it's exhausting," she added. "Sam writes for, like, things that he relates to. I don't think he relates to Kat. I like Kat, so I get to go on my own path. At first, I was like, 'Oh, my God, I'm a flop. I'm a loser.' It really has been a good thing."
Barbie Ferreira will not return for the third season of HBO’s ‘Euphoria.’ pic.twitter.com/7MzN03xOGY
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 24, 2022 @PopCrave
Ferreira announced her exit last August, after the show's second season aired.
"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 said 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."
She concluded: "I put all my care and love into her and I hope you guys could feel it. Love you Katherine Hernandez."