“Everything that I said felt so magnified… It felt almost dystopian to me. I felt like a caricature of myself.”
“I probably could have used my words better”— Jenna Ortega about her Armchair Expert interview
During her interview with Shepard, Jenna Ortega explained that she felt that what she was asked to portray “did not make sense for her character at all.” The actress’ comments came at a time when writers were on the brink of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
At the time, many slammed the 21-year-old, calling her toxic and “beyond entitled” (Steven DeKnight of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame). During the strike, many writers on the picket lines carried signs referring to Ortega. A House Party scribe held a sign that read, “Without writers, Jenna Ortega will have nothing to punch up!”
Remembering the backlash, the Scream VI actress admitted:
“To be fair… I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that.”
She continued:
“I think, oftentimes, I’m such a rambler. I think it was hard because I felt like had I represented the situation better, it probably would’ve been received better.”
Jenna Ortega elaborated that at times she became “unprofessional” on the sets of Wednesday when she tried to keep the character authentic. However, the actress explained that the debacle taught her an important lesson.
“You’re never going to please everybody, and as someone who naturally was a people pleaser, that was really hard for me to understand. Some people just may not like you… and that’s entirely fine.”
Ortega admitted that, as an actor on sets, she was not in charge. The 21-year-old actress reasoned that for the lead character, who is in almost every scene on the show, it was important that she be “involved in what’s going on behind the scenes.”
During her interview, the 21-year-old revealed she serves as a producer on the second season of Wednesday, which allows her to give her input on the sets. Something Ortega expressed she “live(s) for.”
Season 2 of Wednesday is currently under production and set to come out sometime next year.
