Jenna Ortega's Confession About Filming Wednesday Has Twitter Up In Arms
Fans have been singing Jenna Ortega's praises for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in the hit Netflix show "Wednesday." The 20-year-old's deadpan delivery of the spooky teenage girl is spot on and her co-star Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the 1990s "Addams Family" films, called Ortega "truly incredible," per Elle. On what she thinks of the young actor's portrayal, Ricci gushed, "She is so brave, so cool, and really doing the part justice. Wednesday is her part now."
One particular scene that surprised and delighted the show's viewers was Ortega's dancing during the show's fictional Nevermore Academy social. As Wednesday, Ortega busted out moves that were hilariously kooky. "I'm predicting this is gonna be a 'thing' on dance floors across the globe... Doing the 'Wednesday.' 'Going all 'Wednesday,'" a Twitter user wrote. A TikTok user who looked eerily similar to Ortega copied her dance moves and claimed, "This is how I'm gonna dance at every party from now on."
What was even more surprising was that Ortega dreamed up the moves herself. The actor shared with Netflix, "I actually felt really insecure about this. I choreographed that myself, and I think it's very obvious that I'm not a dancer or choreographer." While many praised Ortega for her iconic dance, she later let out a tidbit about her dance scene that left "Wednesday" fans displeased.
Jenna Ortega filmed her dance scene while she was sick
In an interview with NME, Jenna Ortega revealed that, while filming the dance scene in "Wednesday," she technically had COVID-19. "I woke up and it's weird, I never get sick, and when I do it's not very bad – I had the body aches," she shared. Ortega was tested on set, was given medicine, and still filmed while they waited for the results. Following the positive results, Ortega was removed from the set.
When fans heard the news that Ortega had filmed while sick, they expressed their disappointment. "[Ortega] filming a whole scene while waiting for her COVID test results AND with obvious symptoms isn't 'professional.' It's just completely irresponsible," one tweeted. "Jenna Ortega filming that dance scene while she had COVID is not impressive. It's horrible. Absolutely callous disregard for her coworkers," another wrote. Producer Brad Takei tweeted, "While it's a fabulous scene, there should have been stricter protocols in place."
Others thought it was unfair to blame Ortega. "This whole Jenna Ortega COVID situation is not being talked about correctly because people are making it seem like it's her fault when it's really capitalism and Netflix's inhumane working conditions that is the reason for this," a fan opined. "She should have been isolated – not made to keep working while feeling ill. Forcing Jenna Ortega to keep working and spreading COVID around the set is so negligent of the producers and studio," another tweeted. Despite the negative backlash surrounding the dance scene, fans appear to be all for Ortega's portrayal of Wednesday Addams.