Connect with us

Entertainment

Jacob Elordi’s ‘Kissing Booth’ Costar Reacts to His Criticism of the Films on November 18, 2023 at 3:38 am Us Weekly

Published

on

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Jacob Elordi may have felt “dead inside” while filming the Kissing Booth trilogy, but Taylor Zakhar Perez was more than happy to be there.

“I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience,” Perez, 31, told Variety in a Friday, November 17, interview. “It’s a shame that was [Elordi’s] experience. Especially when those movies came out, it was a time when we really needed something like that.”

The Kissing Booth first premiered in 2018 and starred Elordi, 26, alongside Joey King and Joel Courtney. Perez joined the cast for the franchise’s subsequent sequels, which hit Netflix in 2020 and 2021 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Perez told Variety that judging from his own fans’ interactions and getting stopped “everywhere” he goes, he can see what The Kissing Booth “means to people and what it brought them during such a dark time.” He added that for Elordi, the silver lining is that he “still made people laugh and feel good.”

Advertisement

Related: Stars Who Have Taken Acting Roles They Later Regret

Reconsidering the past? Some actors aren’t proud of every project they’ve been a part of — even the ones that skyrockets their careers. Shailene Woodley scored her big break on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, but the experience came with its own issues. After playing teen mother Amy Juergens from 2008 until 2013, […]

Elordi made headlines earlier this month when he revealed that he didn’t want to make the films even “before” he started shooting them, telling GQ, “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”

Advertisement

The Priscilla star described the rom-com trilogy as “one for them, one for me” films —  a Hollywood phrase that describes actors doing one big budget movie for money to allow them the opportunity for smaller passion projects. Elordi noted that the concept of “one and one” was a “trap” he didn’t want to fall into.

“Because it can become 15 for them, none for you,” he explained. “You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside. So, it’s a fine dance. My ‘one for them,’ I’ve done it.”

Marcos Cruz/Netflix

When asked if he’d heard from his former costars regarding his comments on the films, Elordi told Variety earlier this week that he hadn’t, but clarified that he is “incredibly grateful to everybody” involved in them.

Advertisement

This isn’t the first time Elordi has been vocal about his distaste for the Kissing Booth franchise. He previously told Esquire in 2021 that he felt “corny” and “terribly misunderstood” because of the movies he’s made in the past. “I had to prove I was a serious actor,” he explained.

Elordi has since steered away from the rom-com genre and delved into more dramatic roles including Nate Jacobs on HBO’s Euphoria and Elvis Presley in Sophia Coppola’s 2023 film Priscilla, which is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me.

Advertisement

Related: 30 Most Romantic Movies Ever

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Us looks back at the movies that made our hearts melt

Earlier this month, Elordi opened up about playing a side of the King of Rock n Roll that some people may not want to see.

“For me, it was portraying this person the way that she had described him in the moments that [Priscilla] had described,” he told E! News at the time. When asked why he was “so good at playing troubled men,” Elordi replied, “I don’t know if it’s necessarily always troubled men. It’s just I enjoy playing complex people.”

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Jacob Elordi may have felt “dead inside” while filming the Kissing Booth trilogy, but Taylor Zakhar Perez was more than happy to be there. “I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience,” Perez, 31, told Variety in a Friday, November 17, interview. “It’s a 

Advertisement

​   Us Weekly Read More 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entertainment

What We Can Learn Inside 50 Cent’s Explosive Diddy Documentary: 5 Reasons You Should Watch

Published

on

50 Cent’s new Netflix docuseries about Sean “Diddy” Combs is more than a headline-grabbing exposé; it is a meticulous breakdown of how power, celebrity, and silence can collide in the entertainment industry.

Across its episodes, the series traces Diddy’s rise, the allegations that followed him for years, and the shocking footage and testimonies now forcing a wider cultural reckoning.

For viewers, it offers not just drama, but lessons about media literacy, accountability, and how society treats survivors when a superstar is involved.

Rapper 50 Cent pictured in Tup Tup Palace night club with owners James Jukes and Matt LoveDough, Newcastle, UK, 7th November 2015

1. It Chronicles Diddy’s Rise and Fall – And How Power Warps Reality

The docuseries follows Combs from hitmaker and business icon to a figure facing serious criminal conviction and public disgrace, mapping out decades of influence, branding, and behind-the-scenes behavior. Watching that arc shows how money, fame, and industry relationships can shield someone from scrutiny and delay accountability, even as disturbing accusations accumulate.

Rapper 50 Cent pictured in Tup Tup Palace night club with owners James Jukes and Matt LoveDough, Newcastle, UK, 7th November 2015

2. Never-Before-Seen Footage Shows How Narratives Are Managed

Exclusive footage of Diddy in private settings and in the tense days around his legal troubles reveals how carefully celebrity narratives are shaped, even in crisis.

Viewers can learn to question polished statements and recognize that what looks spontaneous in public is often the result of strategy, damage control, and legal calculation.

HCFF
HCFF

3. Survivors’ Stories Highlight Patterns of Abuse and Silence

Interviews with alleged victims, former staff, and industry insiders describe patterns of control, fear, and emotional or physical harm that were long whispered about but rarely aired in this detail. Their stories underline how difficult it is to speak out against a powerful figure, teaching viewers why many survivors delay disclosure and why consistent patterns across multiple accounts matter.

4. 50 Cent’s Approach Shows Storytelling as a Tool for Accountability

As executive producer, 50 Cent uses his reputation and platform to push a project that leans into uncomfortable truths rather than protecting industry relationships. The series demonstrates how documentary storytelling can challenge established power structures, elevate marginalized voices, and pressure institutions to respond when traditional systems have failed.

5. The Cultural Backlash Reveals How Society Handles Celebrity Accountability

Reactions to the doc—ranging from people calling it necessary and brave to others dismissing it as a vendetta or smear campaign—expose how emotionally invested audiences can be in defending or condemning a famous figure. Watching that debate unfold helps viewers see how fandom, nostalgia, and bias influence who is believed, and why conversations about “cancel culture” often mask deeper questions about justice and who is considered too powerful to fall.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Entertainment

South Park’s Christmas Episode Delivers the Antichrist

Published

on

A new Christmas-themed episode of South Park is scheduled to air with a central plot in which Satan is depicted as preparing for the birth of an Antichrist figure. The premise extends a season-long narrative arc that has involved Satan, Donald Trump, and apocalyptic rhetoric, positioning this holiday episode as a culmination of those storylines rather than a stand‑alone concept.

Episode premise and season context

According to published synopses and entertainment coverage, the episode frames the Antichrist as part of a fictional storyline that blends religious symbolism with commentary on politics, media, and cultural fear. This follows earlier Season 28 episodes that introduced ideas about Trump fathering an Antichrist child and tech billionaire Peter Thiel obsessing over prophecy and end‑times narratives. The Christmas setting is presented as a contrast to the darker themes, reflecting the series’ pattern of pairing holiday imagery with controversial subject matter.

HCFF
HCFF

Public and political reactions

Coverage notes that some figures connected to Donald Trump’s political orbit have criticized the season’s portrayal of Trump and his allies, describing the show as relying on shock tactics rather than substantive critique. Commentators highlight that these objections are directed more at the depiction of real political figures and the show’s tone than at the specific theology of the Antichrist storyline.

At the time of reporting, there have not been widely reported, detailed statements from major religious leaders focused solely on this Christmas episode, though religion-focused criticism of South Park in general has a long history.

Media and cultural commentary

Entertainment outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Slate, and USA Today describe the Antichrist arc as part of South Park’s ongoing use of Trump-era and tech-world politics as material for satire.

These reports emphasize that the show’s treatment of the Antichrist, Satan, and prophecy is designed as exaggerated commentary rather than doctrinal argument, while also acknowledging that many viewers may see the storyline as offensive or excessive.

Viewer guidance and content advisory

South Park is rated TV‑MA and is intended for adult audiences due to strong language, explicit themes, and frequent use of religious and political satire. Viewers who are sensitive to depictions of Satan, the Antichrist, or parodies involving real political figures may find this episode particularly objectionable, while others may view it as consistent with the show’s long‑running approach to controversial topics. As with previous episodes, individual responses are likely to vary widely, and the episode is best understood as part of an ongoing satirical series rather than a factual or theological statement.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Entertainment

Sydney Sweeney Finally Confronts the Plastic Surgery Rumors

Published

on

Sydney Sweeney has decided she is finished watching strangers on the internet treat her face like a forensic project. After years of side‑by‑side screenshots, “then vs now” TikToks, and long comment threads wondering what work she has supposedly had done, the actor is now addressing the plastic surgery rumors directly—and using them to say something larger about how women are looked at in Hollywood and online.

Sweeney at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival red carpet premiere of Christy

Growing Up on Camera vs. “Before and After” Culture

Sweeney points out that people are often mistaking normal changes for procedures: she grew up on camera, her roles now come with big‑budget glam teams, and her body has shifted as she has trained, aged, and worked nonstop. Yet every new red‑carpet photo gets folded into a narrative that assumes surgeons, not time, are responsible. Rather than walking through a checklist of what is “real,” she emphasizes how bizarre it is that internet detectives comb through pores, noses, and jawlines as if they are owed an explanation for every contour of a woman’s face.

HCFF
HCFF

The Real Problem Isn’t Her Face

By speaking up, Sweeney is redirecting the conversation away from her features and toward the culture that obsesses over them.

She argues that the real issue isn’t whether an actress has had work done, but why audiences feel so entitled to dissect her body as public property in the first place.

For her, the constant speculation is less about curiosity and more about control—another way to tell women what they should look like and punish them when they do not fit. In calling out that dynamic, Sweeney isn’t just defending herself; she is forcing fans and followers to ask why tearing apart someone else’s appearance has become such a popular form of entertainment.


Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending