Taylor Zakhar Perez Responds to Costar Jacob Elordi Criticizing The Kissing Booth

Taylor Zakhar Perez isn't keeping his feelings in the booth.

The Kissing Booth star shared his thoughts on costar Jacob Elordi criticizing the Netflix rom-com.

"I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience," Taylor told Variety Nov. 16. "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."

The 31-year-old went on to explain his experience with the trilogy, noting: "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."

Jacob—who costarred alongside Joey King in all three films—made headlines earlier this week after he revealed how he truly felt about starring in the franchise.

"I didn't want to make those movies before I made those movies," he told GQ in an article published Nov. 13. "Those movies are ridiculous. They're not universal. They're an escape."  

Although some may follow the "one for them, one for me" mentality, Jacob doesn't see it that way.

"Because it can become 15 for them, none for you," the Euphoria actor continued. "You have no original ideas and you're dead inside. So, it's a fine dance. My ‘one for them,' I've done it."

These days, the actor is more excited about stepping into one pair of blue suede shoes in particular—Elvis Presley's. Jacob plays the King of Rock for Sofia Coppola's Priscilla, which came out Oct. 27.

However, the 26-year-old admitted that he did think twice about saying yes to the role so soon after Austin Butler's Oscar-nominated portrayal in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 movie Elvis.

"It certainly crossed my mind briefly before I'd read the script," Jacob explained. "I don't want to tell the same story over, especially because he did such a fine job of portraying this man," but he added that his film is "a completely different thing."

That's why he was up for the challenge.

"It's terribly exciting, too, running into the fire a little bit," Jacob said. "I can't think of anything more exhilarating."