Jacob Elordi Defends Himself From ‘Pretentious’ Label After Criticizing Breakout Netflix ‘Kissing Booth’ Movies

As Jacob Elordi becomes one of Hollywood's newest leading men to take over the big screen, he's lamenting his small screen past.

The Priscilla star did not mince words when telling GQ about his feelings about the "ridiculous" Kissing Booth movies he made for Netflix from 2018 to 2021, a critique that has gotten him labeled "pretentious" in the past.

"How is caring about your output pretentious?" said Elordi. "But not caring, and knowingly feeding people sh--, knowing that you're making money off of people's time, which is literally the most valuable thing that they have – how is that the cool thing?"

It seems Elordi doesn't harbor any fond feelings for playing heartthrob Noah Flynn, his breakout role opposite Joey King in the three teen romantic comedies.

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

After simultaneously making waves as Nate Jacobs in the much darker HBO teen series Euphoria, which premiered in 2019, Elordi explained the decision to star in the Netflix trilogy as an unspoken "one for them, one for me" logic that's commonly observed in Hollywood.

"That one's a trap as well," said Elordi. "Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you're dead inside. So it's a fine dance. My 'one for them,' I've done it."

Elordi can be seen in Priscilla, now in theaters; and Saltburn, premiering Nov. 17 in select theaters before its Nov. 22 wide release.