The double-murder case of teenager Mackenzie Shirilla has resurfaced in the true-crime podcast space, highlighting her desperate attempts to audition for HBO's hit teen drama Euphoria. Shirilla, who was sentenced to life in prison for deliberately crashing her car at 100 miles per hour to kill her boyfriend and his friend, apparently saw herself as a perfect fit for the gritty world of the show.
On Rotten Mango, host Stephanie Soo walked listeners through Shirilla's disturbing private Snapchat messages and social media presence, which included reaching out to the casting team of Euphoria. Soo described Shirilla's chilling TikTok games, quoting her videos: "Put a finger down if when your parents are yelling at you, you stare them directly in their eye for a long period of time just to intimidate them." Shirilla also posted about her lack of empathy, playing along to, "Put a finger down if someone close to you is crying, and the only thing that you can think of is trying not to laugh because it's a defense mechanism." Soo noted that these eerie social media behaviors paint a picture of a troubled teen performing for an online audience.
While the true-crime world grapples with how the dark aesthetic of Euphoria might have appealed to troubled teens like Shirilla, the show itself remains a focal point of cultural obsession. Whether future seasons will continue to attract this level of extreme parasocial behavior remains to be seen, but for now, hosts like Stephanie Soo are left dissecting the chilling intersection of teenage delusion and real-world tragedy.