Taylor Zakhar Perez responds to Jacob Al-Wardi’s criticism of the films

“The Kissing Booth” actor Taylor Zakhar Perez says he was surprised by star Jacob Elordi’s criticism of the rom-com franchise.

“I thought it was a shame because as far as I know, everyone had a great experience,” Perez told me Thursday at the GQ Men of the Year party at Bar Marmont in West Hollywood.

“It’s a shame that he had to experience it on set. Especially when those movies came out, it was a time when we really needed something like that,” he said, referring to the Covid pandemic. “I know from our interactions with fans, stopping by everywhere I go To him, what “Kissing Booth” means to people and what it has brought them during such a dark time. I think the bright side is that it still makes people laugh and feel good.

Elordi made headlines earlier this week by criticizing the franchise in his GQ Men of the Year cover story. “I didn’t want to make those movies before I made them,” he told Trilogy magazine Kissing Booth. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re escapist.”

In the three Netflix films — released in 2018, 2020, and 2021 and based on Beth Reekles’ novel series of the same name — Elordi played Noah Flynn, a football player who loves Joey King’s Elle Evans.

The second film, directed, co-written and produced by Vince Marcello, revolves around Elle, a high school student who falls into a love triangle with Noah and the new guy at school (Perez).

The star of “Priscilla” and “Euphoria” felt that “The Kissing Both” seemed like part of a “trap” that some actors fall into in Hollywood. “You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside. It’s a great dance,” he told GQ.

While Elordi said he didn’t hear directly from anyone on staff about his remarks, he also told me at the GQ party: “I’m very grateful to everyone involved.”