Jenna Ortega’s Blunt ‘Wednesday’ Comments Spark Praise, Criticism

Jenna Ortega, star of Netflix’s smash-hit Wednesday, has proved to be just as blunt as her titular character, Wednesday Addams.

During an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by Dax Shepard, Ortega claimed to make several meaningful changes to the script of Wednesday, to ensure the dialogue stayed true to her character.

The podcast made for a refreshingly honest interview; when discussing their performances, most actors are content to gush about how lucky they are, or to endlessly praise the production without delving into details.

Ortega explained that she had to put her foot down and advocate for her character, to the point where it was “almost unprofessional,” stating:

“There was times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional in a sense, where I just started changing lines … I would have to sit down with the writers, and they would be like, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And I would have to go through and explain why I couldn’t do certain things.”

Ortega went on to give specific examples, quoting stereotypical “teenage” dialogue that clashed with Wednesday’s dark, brooding persona.

“Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all,” Ortega said. “Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about like, this dress that she has to wear for a school dance and she said, ‘Oh, my God, I love it. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.’ And I had to go, ‘No, there’s no way.’”

Ortega even mentioned choreographing her own dance, the most iconic scene from the show, after discovering that Wednesday was originally meant to inspire a flash-mob, stating: “why would [Wednesday] be okay with that?”

Ortega implied that she had completely reshaped her character to give Wednesday more of an arc, saying, “I grew very, very protective of her, but you can’t lead a story and have no emotional arc because then it’s boring and nobody likes you.”

On Twitter, fans praised Ortega’s honesty, with some crediting her for Wednesday’s success and cultural impact.

Podcaster Jordan Crucchiola tweeted: “I really appreciate how candid Jenna Ortega seems to be about her experience working on Wednesday. You can be grateful for your success without being a hostage to ‘I’m just grateful to be here.’ I hope she keeps being very honest about her challenges.”

Crucchiola went on to note that the entertainment industry “thrives on going along to get along and keeping your mouth closed.”

Others were more skeptical of Ortega’s version of events, with some writers implying that Ortega’s actions didn’t seem particularly professional.

Journalist Mark Harris wrote, “No worries—after this interview, writers will be lining up to work with her!”

Writer Michael Sheridan tweeted, “Yeesh… now I get why writers are getting a bit upset about her comments. The way this is framed… it appears she claims she knew better than the writers, better than Tim Burton, & she’s why the show was a hit. I don’t know if she meant that, but that’s how this reads.”

Michelle Dean, co-creator of Hulu’s The Act, observed that Ortega was likely in a better position to understand her character, writing: “well another dynamic going on here is that she’s a teenage girl being instructed by male writers and male directors about how a teenage girl might behave.”

Soon after the podcast episode aired, Ortega deactivated her Twitter account. Pop culture commentators noted that Ortega was likely reacting to backlash from her fandom, due to her stated friendship with fellow Wednesday star Percy Hynes White, who has faced sexual assault allegations on Twitter.

While Ortega’s exact contributions to the script remain unclear, the actress has been confirmed as an executive producer on the second season of Wednesday.

Tim Burton, who directed the first four episodes of Wednesday, has heaped praise on Ortega’s performance, saying he “can’t imagine any other Wednesday.” Ortega famously auditioned for the role while exhausted and covered in fake blood, having been awake for 24 hours after filming a gory scene for Ti West’s horror-thriller X.

Hopefully, Ortega continues to be brutally honest about her experiences filming season 2 of Wednesday.