‘The Drama’ Director Kristoffer Borgli Details Romance With Teen Girl As an Adult in Resurfaced Essay

Kristoffer Borgli, the director of the upcoming romance film The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is being criticized online over his involvement with a teenage girl as an adult.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker, 40, wrote an essay for a Norwegian magazine in 2012 — when he was 27 years old — chronicling his past relationship with the teen. In Norway, the age of consent is 16.

While originally written in Norwegian, The Hollywood Reporter translated the article into English.

“The term ‘May-December’ is explained here as when the age difference between two people in a relationship is so large that it risks social disapproval,” Borgli began his essay. “The reason I know this is because I met a girl ten years younger than me whom I liked very much – a girl who wasn’t old enough to vote – and I had to find something that could recalibrate my moral compass.”

“The few friends I confided in about my situation responded that it was not ‘within bounds.’ That confirmed that it was precisely a May-December romance,” he added.

Despite the lack of social approval, Borgli said he pursued the relationship because “you can’t choose what the heart wants.”

“Suddenly we were together all the time – long days in my apartment, eggs and bacon with Woody Allen films for breakfast (she was also a fan), long walks with her parents’ dog, and late midweek evenings at restaurants and bars (where they didn’t check ID),” he penned.

“When her parents were away, we began spending entire days in their large apartment; we drank her parents’ wine, we read her parents’ books,” he continued. “Some days we didn’t go outside because it was dark (and only then did we get dressed); sometimes we could sit at the large kitchen table from breakfast until dinner without moving, just talking and laughing.”

The essay appeared in a print magazine and has resurfaced on Reddit, drawing criticism.

“yikes i was not aware of this,” one Redditor commented.

“man, i was so excited about the movie also f**k him what a weirdo,” a second wrote.

“Well… guess I won’t be watching The Drama,” a third added. “I’m usually pretty good at separating art and artist usually but preying on vastly underage girls is where I draw a line 🙅.”