Euphoria star Nika King jokes she hasn’t ‘paid my rent in 6 months’ amid season 3 delays: ‘I’m serious’

Euphoria star Nika King is looking forward to the HBO series’ long-awaited third season just as much as its loyal fanbase — but not for the reason you’d expect.

The actress — who stars as Leslie, the mother of Zendaya’s character Rue — joked during a recent stand-up comedy gig that she needs the show to come back as soon as possible because she has bills to pay.

“Don’t ask me [when season 3 is coming out]. I don’t f—ing know. Don’t ask me, I don’t know,” she said in footage from the event posted on her TikTok account. “People are like, ‘We need season 3,’ and I’m like, bitch, I need season 3! I haven’t paid my rent in six months.”

Last November, HBO boss Casey Bloys announced that the high school drama would be returning for its next season in 2025. Series creator Sam Levinson previously described the upcoming installment as a “film noir” that would “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world” through Zendaya’s character.

During her stand-up set, King appeared to suggest that it was Zendaya, who is currently promoting her new film Dune: Part Two, who may be holding up production. She teased, “Zendaya’s over in Paris at Fashion Week, and I’m like, ‘Bitch, come home! I need you! Mama needs you.’”

When the crowd began to laugh, King explained that the award-winning show hasn’t had the life-changing effect on her career that she assumed it would. “Y’all laughing and I’m serious,” she said. “I haven’t booked nothing since Euphoria. This is some bulls—!”

“I thought my career was on the rise after Euphoria, I thought I was good,” King continued. “It don’t work that way. I called Taraji [P. Henson] and she was like, ‘Bitch, get used to it.’” (Henson previously told EW that there have been “times when I just wanted to quit” acting because she was “tired of fighting” for roles.)

It’s unclear if King’s comments about her career were made in jest or not. Her IMDb page lists that she is set to star in three forthcoming projects: season three of Euphoria, a film titled Possum Trot, and a short called The Rebel Girls. Representatives for King and Euphoria did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

King isn’t the only Euphoria star that is addressing the lengthy stretch of time that has passed since season 2 aired back in 2022. While visiting The Tonight Show in January, Jacob Elordi said he’s expecting the next installment to feature a time jump because “otherwise they’re going to have to Benjamin Button me or something” in order to play a high schooler.

He added, “I’m assuming that we’ll have to go forward otherwise it’s gonna seem like a weird bit.”