He’s back! The world’s current heartthrob, Jacob Elordi, has made headlines once again. This time, it’s not for being “baby girl” or breaking Hollywood hearts. This time, the Australian police are investigating the icon for an alleged physical assault in a bar.
What Happened?
During a night out, Elordi was approached by Australian producer Joshua Fox, who works for The Kyle and Jackie O Show. According to Fox, he approached Elordi with a container labeled “Jacob Elordi’s bath water” as a prank for the podcast.
For context, the prank was referencing a newly famous scene from hit film Saltburn, in which Elordi masturbates in the bath and Barry Keogan’s character drinks it. The prank, however, did not land well with Elordi.
The audio from the incident depicts Elordi asking Fox if he “was serious” and after realizing he was recording, asking him “Can you not man, please.” After the audio cuts, Fox claims Elordi got in his face and choked him.
Boundaries and Ethics
In the podcast, Fox and his colleagues seem to believe this is a universal joke, and that they did not do anything wrong. Universally, there have been TikTok’s joking about the scene in the hit film, as well as comments from other interviewers. However, the time and place of the incident seemed to especially rub Elordi the wrong way.
It begs the question, do entertainment journalists respect the personal boundaries and lives of the people they are reporting on? What happened between the time of the audio cutting out and the assault that made Elordi break?
Breaking Points
Now, violence is obviously never the answer, but what is the breaking point for the world’s biggest celebrities? The media has constantly built and ruined the careers of Hollywood’s biggest stars. From Paris Hilton giving a nonconsensual interview after the nonconsensual release of her sex tape to Courtney Love receiving murder accusations after the tragic suicide of Kurt Cobain to the world’s most famous case, Britney Spears’s infamous 2008 breakdown. Elordi, who has never had a history of assault, seemed to have reached a breaking point after being pressed by an imposing Fox while he was trying to have a night out.
The assault is bringing conversations of press and media boundaries to light. For a world engulfed in media and news, it is time to assess how ingrained in celebrities’ lives consumers deserve to be and where should society draw the line.
What’s your opinion on the Jacob Elordi controversy? Let us know by tweeting @VALLEYmag on X!
