Did McKay actually get s*xually assaulted in Euphoria? Details explored

HBO's teen drama series, Euphoria, completed its second season in February 2022. While it was renewed for a third season the same year, the production has been indefinitely postponed. The show highlights various teenage issues ranging from physical and substance abuse to gender transition and mental health.

The series faced controversy for its bold concept and explicit visuals. One such incident was Christopher McKay's mistreatment by a group of boys from his own circle or community in an act called hazing. The scene left the audience shocked and wondering whether McKay was s*xually assaulted in Euphoria.

However, that was not the case. As part of the abusive hazing practice, he was beaten with a pretense of s*xual moves. But he was not s*xually assaulted.

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McKay was not s*xually assaulted in Euphoria

McKay faced violent abuse from his fraternity (Image via Instagram@euphoria)

Season 1 of Euphoria set out to present teenager issues. While the story revolved around Zendaya's Rue Bennett, episode 6 covered the story arc of Christopher McKay, played by Algee Smith. It explained the background of his attitude and his difficulties adjusting.

However, episode 6 also had the disturbing scene of McKay's assault by a gang of teen boys. They arrived at the time when he was getting intimate with Cassie, his girlfriend. They called him rude names, pulled him to the floor naked, and beat him up.

As mentioned before, while the violence was physical, verbal, and psychological, there was no actual s*xual abuse as Smith confirmed this in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He explained how the abusers pretended to perform s*xual acts as a form of abusive deposition ritual. While they were not meant to r*pe the victim, the act of hazing was meant to instill fear and corner McKay.

McKay actor Algee Smith with co-actor Sydney Sweeney (Image via Instagram@euphoria)

While Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, screamed at them to stop, the group shouted chants for their fraternity as they assaulted McKay. They beat him and violently "fake h*mped" him, as per Smith's interview.

As such, it did cause trauma for McKay as he went to the bathroom and sobbed. However, he pretended to be strong before Cassie. The event also brought a distance between the couple, which the second season could not bridge.

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Where was McKay in Euphoria season 2?

McKay was hardly visible in the show's second season except for two episodes. He was seen attending a New Year's party in season 2 episode 1. He probed Cassie about restarting their relationship, to which she refused. After that, he was briefly seen chatting with Nate where the latter asked explicit questions about his intimate moments with Cassie.

He was next seen in season 2 episode 2, when Nate was beaten up by Fezco, leaving him injured. McKay turned up to help his wounded and bloodied friend, taking him to the hospital. However, McKay did not appear in the season prominently after that. He was expected to have a more central role in the third season.

Stream Euphoria season 1 on Prime Video. Season 2 is available for streaming on Max. Both the seasons are available on JioCinema.