Joey King on Working With Ex Jacob Elordi: "Elle Evans Needs Her Noah Flynn"

Published on Aug 11, 2020 at 12:10 PM

Thanks to the recent release of The Kissing Booth 2, Joey King is everywhere — on Netflix, on Instagram, and now, on Cosmopolitan's September cover. The 21-year-old spoke out about her mental health, how she is hoping for hope in a year full of challenges, and what it was like to work with ex-boyfriend Jacob Elordi. And as you can expect, her answer is certainly . . . something. If getting the scoop on what it was like to work with Jacob wasn't enough, Joey's dog Angel was present for the interview, so just imagine her saying the below quotes with an adorable Teacup Yorkie on her lap.

On mental health: "I preach a lot about being proactive about your mental health and not feeling selfish for feeling depressed or upset, but then when I sink into these weird moods, I immediately feel super selfish, which makes me feel worse. When it comes to taking care of yourself, there is a certain level of selfishness you have to have, but it's hard. I haven't found that balance yet. Because I in no way, shape, or form want to make any conversation that I start right now about me."

On acting with her ex-boyfriend: "No one's thinking to themselves, That was easy, because it wasn't. I'm sure people will analyze every movement and every detail. And you know what? Let them. But at the end of the day, I was just thrilled to be Elle Evans again . . . There's so much I want to say. What's the most correct way to go about this? Elle Evans needs her Noah Flynn, and whatever that means for my personal life, I'll do anything to make sure the story of my character who I care about so much is complete."

On setting goals: "Some people are really good about setting goals — if they set a goal, they know they have to do it and they won't feel good until they do it. I am the same way, yet I still let myself not get it done for some reason."
On the Black Lives Matter movement: "I am a guest. Like every white person who enters, we are guests. This is not an issue we have to make about ourselves. We don't get to make it about ourselves."
On 2020 and hope: "2020 is a piece of sh*t. And I know it's silly to hope that everything's beautiful by September because it won't be. So I'm hoping that there's hope. That's more realistic."