Zendaya's 'Euphoria' mom Nika King reacts to her scene being mostly cut

Nika King has revealed that her scene in the latest episode of Euphoria was almost entirely cut out.

The actress and comedian, who plays Zendaya’s on-screen mom Leslie, took to Instagram on Sunday, May 17, after discovering that most of her scenes in the new Season 3 episode were left on the cutting room floor.

“I just watched the episode that I’ve been promoting all week – and my mom over here is clowning me!” she said in the video, laughing at the situation. Her off-camera mother piled on, joking about how long fans had waited for the moment, while King quipped, “You better be glad I have a sense of humour, you better be glad I’ve got thick skin.”

The 47-year-old actress appeared in Sunday’s episode Stand Still and See, marking her first on-screen appearance in the HBO drama since 2022. But after four years of anticipation, viewers only got a brief glimpse of Leslie during a phone call with Rue (Zendaya), as she delivered a single yet impactful line: that she loved her daughter.

The scene came during one of the episode’s heaviest moments, as Rue reached out to her mother while grappling with a near-death experience and her new search for redemption.

King has become something of a fan favourite beyond the show for her candid jokes about Euphoria’s lengthy production gaps. In 2024, she went viral after joking during a comedy set, “We need Season 3! B***h, I need Season 3! I haven’t paid my rent in six months.”