Jacob Elordi Agrees That Chuck Bass From ‘Gossip Girl’ Is the Worst

"What an irredeemable character."

Anyone who has seen Gossip Girl knows that Chuck Bass is a problematic character, to say the least. Although the 2000s teen drama remains marathon-worthy on Netflix, many parts of the series haven’t aged well, and Chuck lies at the heart of those issues. While some Gossip Girl fans would be quick to defend “bad boy” Bass, Euphoria star Jacob Elordi doesn’t understand why a violent, degrading character ends up beloved by the end of the six-season series.

In a recent interview with Variety, Elordi revealed that he watched Gossip Girl “start to finish.” However, he took issue with how the show paints Chuck in a positive light as the series goes on.

What an irredeemable character, Elordi said.

“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?” he added.

Elordi’s memory of Chuck’s actions in the series premiere is correct: The high-schooler forces himself on Blake Lively’s character, Serena van der Woodsen, and attempts to rape Taylor Momsen’s character, Jenny Humphrey, later in the episode. Chuck’s actions don’t improve from here on out: He consistently degrades, slut-shames, and manipulates women throughout the whole series. So it’s truly confusing how some fans still support Chuck and his toxic relationship with Blair Waldorf.

We should note that it’s not just Chuck Bass that’s problematic. The actor behind the role, Ed Westwick, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, though he avoided official rape charges due to “insufficient evidence” in a controversial investigation that had paperwork errors, according to Deadline.

Elordi himself knows what it’s like to play “bad boys.” The 23-year-old actor, who rose to fame by playing jock Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth movies, also played Nate Jacobs, a manipulative high school quarterback, in HBO’s Euphoria. We could say it takes one to know one, but anyone who sees Chuck Bass’s actions should know there is nothing to praise.

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