Jenna Ortega on Criticism: ‘I Probably Could Have Used My Words Better…’

Remember last spring, when half of Hollywood’s writers’ rooms came for Jenna Ortega after she admitted she often argued for her character’s authenticity on the set of Wednesday? If you forgot, the backlash was so swift that the actor was even a punchline on protest signs during the Writers Guild of America strike. For months, Ortega’s remained mum on the subject…until now.

“I think I probably could have been…I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that,” Ortega, who’s the cover star of Vanity Fair‘s September issue, told the magazine. “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.”

Because the news cycle is unceasing, here’s a quick reminder of Ortega’s actual comments: “Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all,” Ortega said of some of Wednesday’s character traits and storylines on Dax Shepherd’s podcast, Armchair Expert, in March 2023. “Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about 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.’”

And of the series’ writers’ reactions, she added: “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.” While I can certainly empathize with the frustration of Wednesday‘s writers, it’s pretty much part and parcel of any writing job to “kill your darlings.” And if the actor tasked with bringing what’s on paper to life is as passionate about the series as Ortega was, I don’t think their feedback should immediately warrant diva allegations…as Oretga’s did. But that’s just one person’s opinion!

Ortega also briefly touched on the current social and political climate of the entertainment industry in the wake of her co-star, Melissa Barrera, getting fired from the Scream franchise after vocally opposing Israel’s ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine. Ortega, too, has publicly supported Palestinian liberation.

“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely. Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty,” Ortega vented to Vanity Fair. “I wish that we had a better sense of conversation. Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument.”

 “Am I describing world peace?” she asked hypothetically. In short: pretty much!