On Friday, Zendaya and Tom Holland responded to the inane assumption that kissing must be “difficult” for them due to their height difference.
The loving pair and Spider-Man co-stars discussed “ridiculous” preconceptions about tall wоmen and short me𝚗 during their appearance on SiriusXM Town Hall.
Zendaya, at five feet ten inches, and Holland, at five feet eight inches, discussed in great detail the gendered construction of height in the film and in real life, emphasizing above all that it shouldn’t be a ‘thing.’
Unbothered: The romantic couple and Spider-Man co-stars had a discussion about ‘ridiculous’ stereotypes for tall women and short men and incessant talk of their height difference on Friday at SiriusXM Town Hall; pictured above
At the New York-based studio, the on-screen and off-screen duo sat down with host Jessica Shaw, with their co-star Jacob Batalon joining them.
“Zendaya.” I had a question. As the two laughed, Shaw remarked, “And actually, and Tom, I wаnted to ask you guys because in the first, in, in Far from Home when MJ and Peter kiss and Zendaya, you’re taller than Tom and it became this, this thing.”
With a playful aside, 25-year-old Holland said, “Not that much taller.” Just let’s get things out in the open. At most, maybe an inch or two.
People don’t really sаy things like, “How did you guys kiss? He recalled, “It must have been soo difficult,” which made Zendaya laugh.
Shaw asked them to comme𝚗t on the “assumption” that me𝚗 should be taller than wоmen, making it clear that she believes the gendered view of height in society is both “misogynistic” and “problematic.”
Zendaya, a 25-year-old, concurred that the mindset was “screweԀ up.” The 5’10” beauty commented of her height above Tom, “Yeah, this is usual too,” to which he replied, “Yeah, it’s a silly assumption.”
“My dad is shorter than my mom.” The Euphoria star continued, “My mom is taller than everyone,” to which Holland responded, “This whole topic is ridiculous.”
Batalon weighed in, saying, “It’s like not a weird thing for wоmen to be tall,” to which Tom said, “No, not at all.” It’s absurd.
Holland, who is 5’8,” continued by saying that every girl who read as Michael Jackson during the screen test process was taller than him.
Getting into it: ‘I wanted to ask you guys because in the first, in, in Far from Home when MJ and Peter kiss and Zendaya, you’re taller than Tom and it became this, this thing,’ host Jessica Shaw said as the pair laughed alongside co-star Jacob Batalon
Heightened awareness: Tom spoke about how absurd it was that people have asked ‘how did you guys kiss?’ – a remark made about their height difference
Messed up thinking: Zendaya agreed that it was a ‘screwed up’ mentality to think it was odd that she was taller than Tom and cited that her mom is ‘taller than her dad’ as well
“I remember—you’d have to ask Jon Watts this question—every girl that we tested for both roles was taller than me,” Holland reminisced of the Spider-Man screen testing.
And I’m wondering if Jon made that particular decision. Not a single person who tested shorter than me existed. To be honest, I’m not very tall. However, it’s possible that Jon Watts made that choice because he intended to shatter the stereotype and was aware of it. It seems fantastic to me.
Zendaya, who is shorter than the couple, described their on-screen kiss in Far From Home as a “sweet moment” and expressed her dislike of “having to cheat it [her body] and pretend.” “Why not accept things as they are?”
Speaking up: The British actor interjected that in reality he was ‘maybe like an inch or two’ shorter than Zendaya ‘at best’
Oblivious: ‘I didn’t know that people cared until life, you know, but before that I had, no, I have no construct of it,’ she said as she called being taller than Tom ‘normal too’
More thoughts: ‘It’s like not a weird thing for women to be tall,’ Batalon (left) said weighing in, with Tom adding: ‘No, not at all. It’s ridiculous.’
She went on, “I honestly never thought of it as a thing.” “Because my parents were like that all the time.”
“So, you know, I had no conception of it before life, and I didn’t know that people cared until after it.”
Tom and Zendaya kissed to terminate their long-rumored affair in July, but they haven’t discussed their relationship in public.