Jenna Ortega Defends 'Wednesday' Line Changes After Backlash: 'I Really Put My Foot Down'
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“I’ve been told on sets, ‘You wouldn’t know because you’re not a writer,’ or, ‘Just shut up and do your job,'" Ortega recalled
Jenna Ortega is defending her choice to ad lib lines while filming Wednesday despite the backlash for doing so.
The 20-year-old actress explained why she felt like she had to speak up and alter what was originally written for her starring role in the hit Netflix show in a recent interview in The Hollywood Reporter’s Comedy Actress Roundtable.
“I think that because I’m someone who is very opinionated or because I know what it’s like to be a people-pleaser in this industry, and I know how unhappy or how frustrating it’s been in the past,” Ortega began. “When I went into Wednesday, I really put my foot down and made it clear that everything that I had to say mattered and was heard.”
“I’ve had experiences in TV where I felt my voice wasn’t heard, that I was meant to be a puppet,” she recalled. “I’ve been told on sets, ‘You wouldn’t know because you’re not a writer,’ or, ‘Just shut up and do your job.’ From 12 years old, I’ve been hearing things like that.”
Because of her past work experience, Ortega said, “I went into Wednesday with hesitance. But I was fortunate to be working with someone like Tim Burton, who pulled me in his trailer one day and said that he wanted to be a soundboard for my voice.”
“Every day, me, him, the writers, we’d get together in the morning and go through sides. But also being younger, being a woman, being of smaller stature,” she noted.
The Scream VI star said the collaboration efforts from the entire cast and crew even improved while filming the remainder of season 1: “As the show went on, we all got a better feel for one another and it’s become a really collaborative experience."
Ortega revealed that she will also serve as a producer on the upcoming second season, which was renewed in early January, saying in her roundtable interview, “I feel really, really fortunate to be coming on as a producer this time around.”
“Any of the best teams or environments that I’ve been on on set have been people who are very collaborative and wanted to hear different opinions because it’s very easy for people to get caught up in their own,” she said. “I think a project is best when there’s as many voices and ideas thrown out as possible.”
“I feel really lucky to be able to be in the room early next season and be talking about scripts and giving notes,” added the X actress.
In March, Ortega made waves when she revealed that she would change Wednesday Addams' scripted lines on the fly while filming the Netflix series.
"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 told Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast.
"Everything that [Wednesday] does, everything that I had to play, does not make sense for her character at all," according to Ortega. "Her being in a love triangle made no sense."
Shepard, 48, also included one example of a line Ortega completely axed from the script. "There was a line about, like, this dress she has to wear for a school dance and she said 'Oh my God, I love it. I can't believe I said that, I literally hate myself,'" Ortega said. "I had to go, 'No.' There was times on that set I almost became unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines."
The remarks prompted mixed reactions, with some commending Ortega's perspective, while others criticized her take.
For instance, 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."
Meanwhile, Michelle Dean, co-creator of Hulu's The Act, looked a level deeper as she noted, "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."
She gave a reason for her constant changes, though. "I grew very, very protective of her," Ortega said, concluding, "You can't lead a story and have no emotional arc."
Shortly after the podcast episode aired, Ortega deleted her Twitter account.
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Season 1 of Wednesday is available to stream now on Netflix.
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