Inside Jenna Ortega and Sabrina Carpenter's Viral 'Taste' Makeout Scene
By Maya Lin-Takahashi
By the time Carpenter entered pre-production for the "Taste" single, her mainstream trajectory had hit escape velocity. Tracks like "Espresso" and "Please Please Please" had claimed radio waves, but the visual treatment for "Taste" required a tonal detour. Enlisting veteran music video director Dave Meyers, Carpenter pitched an irreverent narrative centered around two women fighting over the same unremarkable man.
Casting Jenna Ortega was a strategic coup. Known for anchoring Netflix’s Wednesday and revitalizing the Scream franchise, Ortega was modern cinema's preeminent scream queen. Bringing her deadpan morbidity into Carpenter’s pastel, retro-pop universe created instant friction. Rather than portraying two jealous women fighting for male validation, Meyers scripted an escalation of mutual attempted murder that ended with the women bonding over their target's funeral.
Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.
