Last month, Jacob Elordi shared his real feelings about The Kissing Booth movies. Now, his former co-star Joey King is reacting to his comments. During an interview with Variety’s Marc Malkin on December 2, the 24-year-old actress said, “I think it’s unfortunate anyone would feel that way. I had a great time making those movies, no matter what anyone says.”
In the romance movie franchise, Joey played Elle, whose relationship with Jacob’s bad boy character, Noah, complicates her friendship with his younger brother, Lee. The three film installments became a hit among young adults from 2018 through 2021.
On November 13, the Priscilla actor explained to GQ how he felt about starring in the three movies, calling them “ridiculous” and “not universal.”
“They’re an escape,” Jacob elaborated before saying that he fell in to the Hollywood “trap” of accepting undesired acting credits in the hopes of achieving better ones down the line. “That one’s a trap as well. Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas, and you’re dead inside. So, it’s a fine dance.”
The Euphoria actor’s comments quickly went viral. Fans were divided over his criticism, with some pointing out that he has the right to express his opinion about his on-set experience. Others, however, expressed their disappointment in Jacob’s characterization of the beloved films. Some took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to call him “ungrateful” and accused him of deriding the entire production.
“Bro would not be here without them, never forget where you came from,” one X user tweeted at the time when Jacob’s interview was published. “Otherwise, it’s his opinion, and we can do nothing about it,” another wrote.
That month, actor Taylor Zakhar Perez — who portrayed Marco Valentin Peña in the teen comedies — told Variety he thought “it was a shame” that Jacob didn’t enjoy their time on screen because “to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience.”
“It’s a shame that was his experience on the set,” Taylor continued. “Especially when those movies came out, it was a time when we really needed something like that. I know, from our fan interactions, getting stopped everywhere I go, what Kissing Booth means to people and what it brought them during such a dark time. I guess the silver lining is he still made people laugh and feel good.”
