Zendaya Thinks It's 'Odd' That People Keep Worrying About Her Kissing Scenes

On the press tour for her new film 'Challengers,' the actress shared her honest opinion about those who overly concern themselves with who she kisses on-screen.

April 22, 2024

Eric Charbonneau / Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios

Zendaya wants to keep the focus on her acting, not who she locks lips with on-screen.

During the press tour for her new film Challengers, in which she has a steamy love scene, the actress had a chat with entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton, who asked Zendaya about why her kissing scenes are overly hyped.

“I feel like for a hundred years, actors have been kissing other actors on the screen,” Hamilton said. “It’s literally a part of your job. You play a role that requires kissing, it’s a thing that you have to do. But I feel like when you do it, because I watched interviews from these press tours. When you do it, there’s an abnormal amount of attention paid—”

"I know,” Zendaya replied. "It’s very odd."

On why interviewers resort to asking Zendaya–who's dating actor Tom Holland–about who she kisses in films and television, the actress admitted that she has "no idea" why.

"I don’t know if it’s because they want it to be a viral thing; I don’t know. But I have noticed that, with me specifically," she continued. I feel like other actors don’t… If you were with somebody else here, you probably wouldn’t be asked that question. But, yeah, it is a part of my job, and it is a completely normal part of the job, I think, despite other people’s perceptions of our job."

Probably the most viral of Zendaya's red carpet interviews was during the premiere of Dune: Part Two, where she jokingly played off an awkward question about kissing costar Timothée Chalamet.