- In an interview with Variety, "
Euphoria " and "The Kissing Booth 2" starJacob Elordi called "Gossip Girl " character Chuck Bass (played by Ed Westwick) "irredeemable." - "I believe he rapes two girls in the first episode, and then by the last season, you love him. How do you do that? What kind of arc is that?"
- Elordi, who plays a privileged and violent quarterback on "Euphoria," told Variety that he thinks it's "much more interesting" to portray "morally questionable" characters.
"Euphoria" star Jacob Elordi described "Gossip Girl" character Chuck Bass as "irredeemable" and doesn't understand why fans "love him."
"What an irredeemable character. I believe he rapes two girls in the first episode, and then by the last season, you love him. How do you do that? What kind of arc is that?" Elordi said during an interview for Variety's Power of Young Hollywood issue.
The 23-year-old actor, recognized for roles on HBO's "Euphoria" and Netflix's rom-com franchise "The Kissing Booth," prefaced his opinion by saying: "I watched 'Gossip Girl' start to finish. It's intense."
Chuck Bass, a fictional character portrayed by Ed Westwick, was one of several main characters on "Gossip Girl." The CW drama series ran for six seasons between 2007 and 2012 and ignited the careers of cast members Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, and Chace Crawford.
Chuck was established as problematic from the start of "Gossip Girl."
On the series premiere, he described Serena van der Woodsen (Lively) as "effing hot" and said, "there's something wrong about that level of perfection. It needs to be violated," which prompted friend Nate Archibald (Crawford) to call him "deeply disturbed."
It wouldn't be the first time that he'd make a degrading comment about women on the show. In the same episode, Chuck made an inappropriate pass at Serena and tried to rape Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), Dan's younger sister, at a party.
Many aspects of the beloved show haven't aged well in the years since it ended, and Chuck has been at the center of several problematic instances.
He was violent, slut-shamed other characters, and had a polarizing relationship with Blair Waldorf — who he married on the series finale. Some called out their toxic dynamic, but other fans supported the pairing and referred to them as "relationship goals."
Elordi, who stars as a manipulative high school quarterback named Nate Jacobs on "Euphoria," is more than familiar with playing an antagonist. Entertainment Weekly described his character on the gritty teen drama as "the most terrifying — and realistic — villain on
The show, which premiered in June 2019 and got renewed for a second season, addresses toxic masculinity, physical abuse, and white privilege through the lens of Elordi's vile character.
Elordi became a breakout actor when he starred as a jock named Noah Flynn in "The Kissing Booth," which was released in 2018. Though the movie was a hit with viewers (leading to a recently-released sequel and a third movie on the way), many fans called out Elordi's character for being a stereotypical "bad boy" with violent and jealous tendencies.
In the sequel, he appeared less problematic as he tried to navigate a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend.
Speaking to Variety, the Australian actor said that "it's much more interesting" to portray "morally questionable" characters.
"I'd hate to play someone who's morally correct all the time." he said. "We do s---ty things all the time to each other."
- Read more:
- 'The Kissing Booth 2' star Jacob Elordi explains why he changed his fitness routine: 'It was so much working out and I hated every second of it'
- 'Euphoria' costars Zendaya and Jacob Elordi have been fueling dating speculation for months. Here's a timeline of their friendship.
- 'The Kissing Booth 2' star Joel Courtney breaks down all of his favorite scenes from the sequel