Joey King Reacts to Ex Jacob Elordi Slamming Their Kissing Booth Films

While speaking to Variety over the weekend, the 24-year-old actress responded to Elordi's criticism of the film franchise, in which he called the movies "ridiculous."

"I think it's unfortunate anyone would feel that way. I had a great time making those movies no matter what anyone says," King told the outlet at the Balenciaga fashion show in Los Angeles on Saturday.

In The Kissing Booth saga, King and Elordi played love interests Elle Evans and Noah Flynn, respectively. (The two also dated off-screen from 2017 to 2018.)

In a recent cover story for GQ's 2023 Men of the Year issue, Elordi, 26, slammed the films while reflecting on the "miserable" experience of graduating from a teen movie idol to a serious actor.

"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."

Speaking on the "one for them, one for me" ethos that can be fairly commonplace in Hollywood, Elordi called it a "trap."

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

Meanwhile, King wasn't the only Kissing Booth star who was saddened to learn of Elordi's experience, but actor Taylor Zakhar Perez -- who played Marco Valentin Peña in The Kissing Booth 2 and 3 -- also expressed disappointment.

"I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience," Perez told Variety at GQ's Men of the Year party, which took place only days after Elordi's cover story was published.

"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," he continued, appearing to refer to the COVID pandemic. "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."

Variety noted that Elordi didn't directly react to Perez's comments and deflected the remarks. "I'm incredibly grateful to everybody in it," he said.