Entertainment2 min(s) read
Published 10:48 08 Jun 2023 GMT
Jenna Ortega broke down in tears while discussing the toxicity of social media in a new interview with Elle Fanning.
The 20-year-old actress - who skyrocketed to stardom late last year for her breakout role in Tim Burton's Wednesday Netflix series - took part in a discussion with Fanning, 25, for Variety, where they spoke about their careers as child stars and the darker side of social media.
Ortega opened up about how she got her start as a Disney Channel actress, and how even as a young teen she often didn't get considered for roles because she didn't have enough social media followers - something Fanning also related to.
"When I was younger, they would take us to media training - Disney 101 or something like that - where they would say, 'You're going to post three times a day. This is how you build followers, engage, promote our show,'" Ortega stated. "You could go into an audition or meeting, and it was 'How many followers do you have?'"
The conversation then moved on to social media, and how both actresses have felt they can't be their true selves online for fear their words or actions will be misinterpreted. "It's such a comparing game. It influences bandwagon mentality. It's very manipulative. After the show, I'm really nervous to post or even say anything on there or even be myself," Ortega admitted.
"Because I naturally tend to be sarcastic or dry, it's very easy for me to find myself in trouble. I want people to be able to get to know the people behind the camera and realize that people should never be put on a pedestal. And the more I've been exposed to the world, people prey on that and take advantage of that," the Pearl actress added.
"They see your vulnerability and twist it in a way that you don't always expect. It's so strange. Sorry, I didn't mean to do this," she continued, beginning to get emotional and tear up.
"I still have this really intense urge to be human and honest and authentic. Another thing about this industry is you get in front of a camera and people want you to be something else - where it's 'Have more energy' or 'Could you smile?' and it just feels gross. And I don't want to feel gross.
"I would rather people see me cry and do whatever than be something I'm not," the Scream actress said.
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celebrity4 min(s) read
Published 09:26 26 Aug 2024 GMT
Jenna Ortega has spoken out about her horror after finding out people had used photos of her as a child to create disgusting explicit AI images.
The actress, 21, made her on-screen debut in 2012 at just nine years old, but was propelled to new heights of fame in recent years with appearances in the Scream franchise, as well as the leading role in the series Wednesday.
Jenna played Wednesday Addams in the Netflix comedy-horror series, which quickly became one of Netflix's most-watched shows, receiving over 1 billion viewing hours within a month and earning her nominations for many awards, including a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Primetime Emmy.
However, the success of the show also came with some downsides to Jenna's life, as she found the newfound attention led to some very disturbing online interactions.
Jenna revealed on the New York Times’ podcast, The Interview, that she had to delete her Twitter account after receiving some disgusting DMs, including explicit edited images of her as a minor.
She admitted: "I hate AI. I mean, here’s the thing: AI could be used for incredible things. I think I saw something the other day where they were saying that artificial intelligence was able to detect breast cancer four years before it progressed. That’s beautiful. Let’s keep it to that.
"Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong."
She revealed: "The first [direct message] I ever opened myself when I was 12 was an unsolicited photo of a man’s genitals. And that was just the beginning of what was to come."
Jenna revealed that she was told to create a Twitter account as it would help "build your image", but found it became a dark place once her fame skyrocketed.
"I ended up deleting it about two, three years ago because the influx after the show [Wednesday] had come out — these absurd images and photos, and I already was in a confused state that I just deleted it," she explained.
Opening up about the "disgusting" AI images she was sent of herself, Jenna added: "It made me feel bad. It made me feel uncomfortable. Anyway, that’s why I deleted it, because I couldn’t say anything without seeing something like that.
"So one day I just woke up, and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t need this anymore,’ so I dropped it."
She revealed that deleting Twitter was a way of her "learning" to protect herself, as she remains active on Instagram, where she has over 38 million followers.
And while finding fame so young has come with some downsides, Jenna admits that she wouldn't change anything about starting her Hollywood career at the age of nine.
She explained: "There’s times that I regret it, there’s times that my parents regret it.
"Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t believe in that because if anything, I’m incredibly grateful for the lessons that it did teach me, and it did teach me so much."
entertainment news4 min(s) read
Published 17:08 16 Mar 2023 GMT
Renowned showrunner Steven DeKnight has re-addressed the controversy surrounding Jenna Ortega after he recently branded her as "beyond toxic."
It all started when 20-year-old Ortega appeared on an episode of Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast where she opened up about some of the challenges she faced while filming Netflix's hit show Wednesday.
"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," Ortega explained. "Everything that Wednesday does, everything I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all."
She continued: "Her being in a love triangle? It made no sense. There was a line about a dress she has to wear for a school dance and she says, 'Oh my god I love it. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.' I had to go, 'No.'"
The actress then went on to reveal that she started re-writing parts of the script, which she herself described as "almost unprofessional."
"There were times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines. The script supervisor thought I was going with something and then I had to sit down with the writers, and they’d be like, 'Wait, what happened to the scene?' And I’d have to go and explain why I couldn’t go do certain things."
DeKnight, best known for his work on Daredevil (2015) and Uprising (2018), seemed to take offense at the remarks made by Oretga, addressing the issue via a series of tweets.
"I love talking with actors about their lines/stories," he said when replying to a tweet quoting the actress' comments. "But by the nature of the beast, they don’t have the full picture (in TV) of where the story is going and why some lines are needed for the whole to make sense."
He went on to state: "She’s young, so maybe she doesn’t know any better (but she should). She should also ask herself how she would feel if the showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material.
"This kind of statement is beyond entitled and toxic. I love her work, but life’s too short to deal with people like this in the business," DeKnight added.
After the tweets received a mixed reaction from other social media users, including other writers as well as Ortega's fans, the showrunner has re-addressed the issue.
In two follow-up tweets, the 58-year-old clarified a few points.
"My comments were about breaking the trust that we all have on set and during the production process that our creative differences will stay in the family. It was never about her creative concerns, which were valid," he wrote.
Then he doubled down on his clarification when replying to a fan that thanked him for being transparent.
"Absolutely! Again, I can't stress this enough: She's an amazing talent. It was just an unfortunate situation to expose creative differences publicly, and also I'll admit that writers are on edge because of the impending strike, myself included. A perfect storm," he added.
The hit show Wednesday has been renewed for season two by Netflix.
celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 13:30 27 May 2023 GMT
Social media users have been left divided after footage appeared to show Jenna Ortega smoking a cigarette.
The 20-year-old actress gained a large and passionate fanbase after her popular role as the gothic teen Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series of the same name.
A debate sparked among Twitter users after a video of Ortega smoking began to circulate. The clip was shared by a user - who goes by the handle @wstgoat7 - with the caption: "W** JENNA SMOKES? NOOO."
The video seemed to show the Scream actress leaning against a wall and inhaling a cigarette while in conversation with a friend.
Watch the video below:The clip has been viewed almost 36.4 million times on the social media platform and ignited some mixed opinions from the actress' supporters.
Some people seemed to be left outraged by her lifestyle choice - and how bad it is for her health - with one user writing: "Legit don't understand why anybody chooses to actively smoke cigarettes after the general social shift away from them, like 20+ years ago."
Another said: "yh she’s off the roster," while a third commented: "It's wild to me that there are still young people that smoke cigarettes..."
Meanwhile, other people said they did not understand why a portion of the internet was angered by the former Disney channel actress smoking because she is a grown woman.
One person sarcastically remarked: "People when adults do normal legal things," with a shocked ghost face emoji.
A second user said: "What’s the matter? People aren't allowed to smoke anymore? Is she going to have to apologize? She's an adult, she does what she wants."
A final person reacted to the backlash and said: "People who discover that Jenna Ortega is just human, she owes you nothing, shut up and grow up."
The commotion on social media comes after the announcement that the young actress is now in talks to star in Beetlejuice 2 - the sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 supernatural comedy.
The original film starred Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton alongside Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. According to a report from Variety, Keaton and Winona will be reprising their roles, while Ortega has signed on to play Ryder's daughter. Furthermore, actor Justin Theroux also joined the cast in a yet-to-be-revealed role.
The publication reported that Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, will produce the project, which was written by Mike Vukadinovich.
The former You actress previously worked alongside Burton for the popular Netflix series and gushed to The Hollywood Reporter about her experience.
"It’s been quite an insane experience," she recalled in January 2022. "I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented."
celebrity4 min(s) read
Published 16:04 28 Aug 2024 GMT
celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 11:17 07 Aug 2024 GMT
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