Euphoria’s long-awaited third season is just months away, but fans can’t wait to see their favorite characters after four years. One of those is Leslie Bennett — the mother of Zendaya’s drug addicted character Rue Bennett — played by Nika King.
While much of the third season’s storylines have been kept under wraps, HBO has been sharing first looks of the new season on their social channels. On Tuesday, February 10, King took to her personal Instagram page to respond to headline by The Hollywood Reporter. The headline read “First Look at Nika King’s ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Return After Viral ‘Haven’t My Paid Rent’ Joke” — referring to a joke King made during a 2024 stand-up set. At the time, she quipped that she hadn’t paid her rent in six months, as she was waiting for Euphoria to come back from hiatus.
In her video on Tuesday, King noted that visibility for an actor comes at a high cost. “They don't tell us that you gotta stay relevant,” she said.”In order to stay relevant, you gotta have visibility. And in order to be visible, you need a good publicist.”
As most creatives are aware, none of these things are free. “[A publicist is] gonna run you about $6,500. Yep, times three months minimum. That's the minimum,” noting that most PR companies require clients to sign a retainer of a minimum of three months for representations. That's gonna be a lot of money. That's gonna be money you ain't gonna have as an actor.”
King also broke down the costs that come with having a team. “You gotta pay your agent 10%, your manager another 10%, your lawyer 5%, then Uncle Sam gonna get the hot 30%,” she said. “And then you got your mama talking about, ‘I need five on my light bill,’ So now you out here on Tubi, because that's all you can afford. You're out here struggling. See, that's what they don't tell you. This is show business.”
Early last year, when Euphoria’s third season entered production, it was reported that King would not be returning to the show. She joked about the matter in a video of her cleaning the kitchen of a restaurant that she co-owns with her mother. But last October, HBO announced that King would be returning to play Leslie, despite not initially being cast for the third season.
Euphoria Season 3 is set to premiere on HBO on Sunday, April 12.