Joey King Responds to Ex Jacob Elordi's 'Kissing Booth' Criticism: "It's Unfortunate"

Yeesh.

Jacob Elordi and Joey King attend a screening of 'The Kissing Booth' at NETFLIX on May 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
(Image credit: Getty)

Joey King doesn't sound super thrilled about some critical comments her ex Jacob Elordi made about their Netflix movie series The Kissing Booth.

Asked about Elordi's recent comments during a Balenciaga fashion show in Los Angeles on Saturday, King told Variety, "I think it’s unfortunate anyone would feel that way. I had a great time making those movies no matter what anyone says."

The three Kissing Booth teen rom-com installments gave Elordi his first taste of fame, but he admitted in his GQ Men of the Year cover interview in November that he hated being part of the franchise.

"I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies," he said. "Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape."

Elordi has gone on to star in more "serious" projects, including Euphoria, Saltburn, and Priscilla—as well as becoming a poster boy for seriously good handbags.

King and Elordi dated between 2017 and 2018, while they were filming and promoting the first movie. They then starred in two more movies together after they had broken up.

The two actors' Kissing Booth costar Taylor Zakhar Perez later told Variety of Elordi's comments, "I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience."

He continued, "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. 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."

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.