Jenna Ortega’s revelation that she routinely changed lines in the script of the hit Wednesday show and became “almost unprofessional” has been criticized by fans and TV writers.
The 20-year-old actress, who plays the lead in the Netflix phenomenon, surprised when she admitted she wasn’t always happy with the script and began tweaking her lines in an interview about the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.
She said, “There were times on that set where I even got unprofessional, in a sense, where I just started changing lines,” she said.
“The script supervisor thought I was going with something,” he explained, “and then I’d have to sit down with the writers and they’d say, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And he would have to go through and explain why he couldn’t do certain things.
Writer Michael Sheridan tweeted: ‘Yeah…now I understand why writers get a little annoyed by their comments. The way this is framed…it sounds like she’s claiming that she knew more than the writers, better than Tim Burton, and that’s why the show was such a hit.
OMG: Jenna Ortega’s revelation that she routinely changed lines in the hit Wednesday show’s script and became “almost unprofessional” has been criticized by fans and TV writers.
‘I don’t know if he meant that, but that’s how this reads.’
The Act co-writer Michelle Dean wrote, “Well, another dynamic that’s going on here is that she’s a teenage girl being given instructions by male writers and directors on how a teenage girl can behave.”
‘It’s not the only dynamic here. but neither is the ‘just shut up and say the words’ approach to performers the only one to watch
‘So those writers in the room aren’t showrunners on set with this young lady, necessarily! You don’t have to think that people can only write from their experience to admit that there may be some nuance outside of the writers’ experience that an actor can bring to the table.
“I don’t know anything about what happened on set or off set here, but there are a lot of actors who change their lines, it’s not rare or unusual, especially on TV when scripts tend to change a lot.” I think I think we don’t have to scare actors into compliance!
Journalist Mark Harris responded, “I just hope the contribution comes in some other way than by rewriting them on set, explaining it only after the fact, and then publicly criticizing the writers.”
‘I mean, ‘I want a bow’ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ ‘You don’t have a bow’ seems a bit big to try to figure out on set, right now!’
Fans also took to social media in droves to comment on the controversial interview, with Ortega deleting his Twitter account shortly after the podcast launched.
One wrote: ‘If true, it’s disrespectful. Why not talk to the writers? while a second wrote: ‘Feel free to retire from acting if it’s that hard Jenna!’
Candid: The actress, 20, who plays the lead in the Netflix phenomenon, surprised when she admitted she wasn’t always happy with the script and began tweaking it in an interview on the Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard podcast (pictured) of Monday)
OMG: Writer Michael Sheridan tweeted: ‘Yeah…now I understand why writers get a little upset over their comments. The way this is framed
Discussion: The Act co-writer Michelle Dean wrote, “Well, another dynamic that’s going on here is that she’s a teenage girl being tutored by male writers and directors on how to behave as a teenage girl.”
Another Friends icon referenced Friends icon Joey Tribbiani’s hilarious Days of Our Lives outing when he claimed to have penned his own lines, writing: ‘Clearly he never saw Friends… Wednesday almost falls down an elevator shaft in Season 2 Episode 1.’
Another wrote: “Look, I love Jenna Ortega and Henry Cavill and I love both Wednesday and The Witcher, but as a writer and actor I absolutely hate everything about this trend and mentality.”
Others came out in support of the actress, with one writing: ‘Those of us who were brave enough to publicly hate on Wednesday (and get hounded for it) feel so validated this week because the star of the show doesn’t seem to like it either. Jenna Ortega was so real for this.
Another wrote: ‘#JennaOrtega is brilliant. She completely nailed her performance on Wednesday. And from the looks of it, she put her foot down exactly when necessary, to protect the integrity of the character that is Wednesday. What a good Wednesday!!!
The interview saw Jenna say: ‘I don’t think I ever had to push harder in a set like I did on Wednesday.
Slammed: Fans also took to social media in droves to comment on the controversial interview, with Ortega deleting his Twitter account shortly after the podcast launched.
Support: Some fans praised Ortega for ‘protecting the integrity’ of the show
‘Everything [Wednesday] does, everything he had to interpret doesn’t make any sense for his character,’ according to Ortega. “The fact that she was in a love triangle made no sense.”
There was a line about a dress she has to wear to a school dance and she said, “Oh my gosh, I love it… ugh I can’t believe I said that, I literally hate myself.” And I had to say ‘No’.
The Disney alum also put her foot down on the circumstances that led to her now-viral dance.
“Initially, it was supposed to be a flash mob, and she was supposed to start dancing, and everyone was supposed to take notice and start dancing with her,” he shared.
‘And that, I vetoed because why would she agree to that?’ She explained. “I said, ‘Either cut it or have Wednesday knock someone out, and then it’s done.'”
Jenna admitted that she was too overwhelmed with other tasks, such as learning to fence and play the cello, working with a choreographer on the dance, and being allowed to create the moves herself.
She was also unhappy with some of the “morbid” things she said on Wednesday.
Stepping up: Jenna has been named an executive producer on the show for its second season.
“When you’re little and you say kinky, offensive things, it’s funny and endearing and, ‘Aww, you don’t know any better,'” he explained.
“But then you become a teenager, it’s, ‘Now you’re being nasty and you know it.'” There is less excuse.
“I really appreciate how candid Jenna Ortega seems to be about her experience working on Wednesday. You can be grateful for her success without being held hostage to “I’m grateful to be here,” podcast host Jordan Crucchiola tweeted. “I hope she continues to be very honest about her challenges.”
Jenna has become an executive producer of the show for its second season.