Christopher Borli, director of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s new movie The Drama, is facing backlash for justifying dating a teenager in a resurfaced essay.
In 2012, Borgli wrote about his relationship with a 16-year-old girl in the Norwegian magazine Dagens Nahringsliv. The article was translated into English by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday and is currently going viral on Reddit.
In the article, the then-27-year-old said he pursued a romance with a girl 10 years younger because he needed to “recalibrate his moral compass.” (The age of consent in Norway is 16 years).
“Several friends I’ve confided in about my situation have said it’s not ‘within limits,'” Borli said.
The 40-year-old Norwegian film director describes how he once laid in bed next to a blonde high school student, writing that he didn’t want her to be “defined by her age” and initially planned to never see her again.
“But you can’t choose what your heart desires,” he added.
Borli defended the relationship, calling it an “emotional dilemma,” citing the 1979 Woody Allen film “Manhattan,” about a couple with a 25-year age difference.
In real life, Allen married his ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn when she was 27 years old, and he was 62 years old in 1997.
Borgli writes, “In 2012, why shouldn’t my relationship be ‘within range’ with a fairly small age difference? I chose to listen to Woody over my friends.”
He said his romance with the teenage girl included eating breakfast while watching Allen’s movies, going to restaurants and bars that didn’t check identification, and drinking her parents’ wine.
They spent one summer at the boy’s parents’ apartment, which he described as “the best, most exotic summer I’ve ever spent.”
“Her parents came home unexpectedly early from vacation, so I had to get out of the window (on the first floor),” Bogli recalled, adding that once the summer ended, their “weekend turned into a normal weekday.”
Reddit users criticized Borguri’s controversial past relationships.
One fan wrote, “What a shame. I didn’t know about this.”
Another fan said: “How creepy.” “So instead of accepting that he’s a creep who shouldn’t act on his creepiness, he decides that everyone else is wrong and that his fellow creeps’ 1970s fantasies should guide his life?”
Another source said Borli “gives him a Woody Allen vibe.”
“He is a predator who deserves to be exposed,” someone wrote.
After reading the essay, another fan declared that he would not be watching “The Drama,” which opens in theaters on Friday, April 3.
“I’m usually good at distinguishing between art and artists, but preying on underage girls is where I draw the line,” the same fan added.
Page Six has contacted Borli’s agent and A24, which produced “The Drama.”
Borli is best known for writing and directing the 2022 Norwegian film The Thick of Myself and the 2023 American film Dream Scenario.
The latter film starred Julian Nicholson and Nicolas Cage, the latter of whom received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.
The Drama, his fourth directorial effort, is about a couple (played by Zendaya and Pattinson) who face a shocking truth on the eve of their wedding.
