Taylor Zakhar Perez Responded To Jacob Elordi's Criticism Of "The Kissing Booth" Trilogy
These two Kissing Booth actors are doing a lot of kiss-and-tell lately.
Recently, Jacob Elordi, 26, was critical of the Netflix rom-com, and now his costar, Taylor Zakhar Perez, 31, has responded to the criticism.
The Kissing Booth trilogy was based on Beth Reekles' teen romance novel of the same name and starred Joey King and Joel Courtney alongside Jacob. Taylor joined the cast in the second installment.
Jacob made headlines when the GQ Man of the Year told the publication what he really thought about his breakout role in the franchise, and Taylor was taken aback.
"I didn't want to make those movies before I made those movies," the Euphoria actor said. "Those movies are ridiculous. They're not universal. They're an escape."
Jacob shared that he starred as the "bad-boy jock with washboard abs" because he, more or less, needed a job. He pushed back when Gabriella Paiella of GQ referenced that The Kissing Booth fell into the "one for them, one for me" category.
While Jacob transitions into an auteur, currently starring in films like Sofia Coppola's Priscilla and Emerald Fennell's Saltburn, he's searching to set himself apart from his streaming rom-com past — but that's not true for Taylor.
Talking to Variety, Taylor shared his thoughts on Jacob's comments about their Kissing Booth days.
"I thought it was a shame because, to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience," he said. "It's a shame that was his experience on the set. Especially when those movies came out, it was a time when we really needed something like that."
Taylor recently starred in Red, White, & Royal Blue, another rom-com based on a book, alongside Nicholas Galitzine — so he's on a different page than Jacob.
Talking about his experience in the rom-com trilogy, he said, "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."
Since Kissing Booth, Taylor has appeared in the comedy 1Up and as Shane Brody, the racy nudie mag cover boy in Minx.
Before his two films, now in theaters, Jacob starred as the problematic Nate Jacobs in Euphoria and the doomed sidepiece in Deep Water.
While it seems unlikely that another Kissing Booth film will be made, these two young leading men may cross paths on the silver screen.
I'm crossing my fingers.