Warning: Brief mention of rape, unrelated to Elordi.
Jacob Elordi has sparked a discussion over press boundaries after he reportedly assaulted a radio producer asking for his bathwater this weekend.
For context, the producer who reportedly approached Jacob was working for the Australian breakfast radio show The Kyle and Jackie O Show. It's not the first time the show has faced controversy, as even back in 2009 they were suspended after putting a 14-year-old, who had been raped, live on air to take a lie detector test about her sexual history.
On a segment of the radio show released Monday, the host described how "gay sex addict" 32-year-old producer Joshua Fox heard that 26-year-old Jacob was at a local beer garden by the beach and went down to film the actor as he was leaving.
The show then played purported audio of the two meeting, where Josh introduced himself as a radio producer to Jacob and his friends. He then handed the Saltburn star a tub labeled "Jacob Elordi's bathwater," claiming that it was a present for host Jackie's birthday.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Jacob replied, before understanding that it was to be filled with his bathwater. "You're kidding. Are you filming? Can you not man, please?"
Josh then claimed he agreed not to use the footage as the "joke didn't land," but that Jacob "demanded" that it be deleted. "I'm backed against this wall. He's right in my face, and his two boys are now on either side of me," Josh said. "It's like a switch went off, and he's becoming quite aggressive, and I'm feeling intimidated."
Jacob allegedly told Josh to go into his recently deleted folder, which he then declined to do as he reportedly wanted "evidence" in case the situation escalated. "Jacob flips, he pushes me against the wall, his hands are on my throat," Josh then claimed.
Josh said that he didn't go to the police over the incident. "Officers attached to Eastern Beaches Police Area Command are investigating after a man was allegedly assaulted outside a hotel in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs," the police said in a statement. "The man did not sustain any injuries. Inquiries into the incident is continuing."
However, without condoning violence, many came to the actor's defense given the specifics of the situation:
the jacob elordi discourse is interesting because it’s one of those times where you have to team up with your enemy (a st Kevin’s boy) to unite against the greater enemy (the Kyle and Jackie O show)
I can’t believe I gotta defend Jacob elordi…but y’all be entirely too weird towards him in regards of sexualizing him and just bringing up the bath water sht all the time is disgusting
'Saltburn actor Jacob Elordi accused of grabbing the throat of someone who admited to tracking him down to harass him' doesn't really have the same ring to it though I guess
Some also compared the situation to that of Pedro Pascal, who was repeatedly asked to read "thirst tweets" at the premiere of The Mandalorian last year and declined. Similar to this situation, people discussed how certain stunts with Pedro in the past calling him "daddy" were likely done with his prior consent.
BuzzFeed has reached out to a representative for Jacob Elordi for comment.
