Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Jenna Ortega has reflected on the controversy she sparked after criticizing the writing on her hit Netflix show Wednesday.
The series, which first aired in 2022, is a spinoff of the supernatural Addams Family franchise.
Ortega drew the ire of writers in 2023 when she told a podcast that she had been “almost unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down more on a set in a way that I had to on Wednesday,” she said on Armchair Expert, adding: “Everything that Wednesday does – everything I had to play – did not make sense for her character at all.”
Ortega’s comments sparked criticism, with Daredevil producer Steven S DeKnight calling them “toxic” and “entitled.”
During last year’s writers’ strike, Ortega became the subject of mockery. Variety noted that House Party writer Brandon Cohen’s sign reportedly read: “Without writers, Jenna Ortega will have nothing to punch up!”
Reflecting on the situation in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Ortega, 21, said: “I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that.
“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.”
She added that becoming the center of a social media storm felt overwhelming. “Everything that I said felt so magnified… It felt almost dystopian to me,” she told the magazine. “I felt like a caricature of myself.”
Ortega went on to say that the furor surrounding her comments had taught her a valuable 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.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“I got sick of myself last year,” Ortega added. “My face was everywhere… so it’s like, fair enough, if I were opening my phone and I saw the same girl with some stupid quote or something, I would be over it too.”
Wednesday was a huge hit for Netflix. After just one week of release, it had been streamed for a total of 341.2 million hours, beating a record previously held by Stranger Things.
A much-anticipated second season is expected to arrive next year and is already breaking records.
