'The Kissing Booth 2' Cast on the Movie's Queer Kisses & Friendships

The highly-anticipated sequel to 2018's The Kissing Booth, the teen rom-com based off the book series of the same name, is finally available to binge on Netflix, and while it has many cute moments that will surely make viewers giddy with excitement, LGBTQ+ fans also have something to look forward to in the form of a short-but-sweet queer storyline that culminates in a touching same-sex kiss.

"I think that The Kissing Booth world is so fun and glittery and exciting and just beautiful to watch and so what was really important for us to incorporate in the sequel," Emmy-nominated actress and The Act star Joey King, who returned to the main role of Elle for The Kissing Booth 2, told PRIDE's Raffy Ermac. "We really felt it important to include an LGBTQ+ storyline because these movies reach such a wide audience and so within that wide audience are members of that community and we want everyone to feel seen, heard, and loved while watching."

"When I saw that scene, I cried," queer actress and Legends of Tomorrow star Maisie Richardson-Sellers, who plays a new character in the film named Chloe, said about The Kissing Booth 2's LGBTQ+ inclusion. "They did it so well, it's so tender and it's so honest. I remember those feelings when I was in school when you're first grappling with your sexuality. Feeling so afraid and ashamed and I think it really goes there. It was willing to go there, even though it was this short little side story. And it really excites me that the young people are gonna be able to see this and see that their stories also matter within the genre. And they also have a place for them."

"I loved how Vince (Marcello) did it in a way where he wasn't putting a magnifying glass over Ollie," Taylor Zakhar Perez, who plays Elle's handsome new love interest Marco, said. "It wasn't like 'This is a non-heterosexual relationship, everyone look!' It was normal. It was so beautiful to see as normal because it is normal and that's the world. The sooner that people see this as not an issue, the better that we'll all be."

Besides a cute gay kiss, The Kissing Booth 2 also does a good job of showing viewers that yes, men and women can be friends without there having to be romantic feelings involved, a trope that often plagues too many romantic comedies.

"Is it's so fantastic to finally see that celebrated, 'cause you know society tells you that, that's not gonna work out," said Maisie about exploring platonic friendships between boys and girls on-screen. "Everything about the way that stories are set up, it's always that pitting them against each other. If you're the same gender, women are always pitted against other women. And then men and women, they're always cast to be an element of there being something else there. It challenges it in a really clever way because it kind of lulls you into that world and then sort of flips it on its head, which I really like."

She continued:

"It's an important message for people to see, 'cause there is so much to be gained from having relationships that are platonic with the opposite sex and other genders than yourself."

The Kissing Booth 2 is now streaming on Netflix.