Fans defend Jenna Ortega after she's called "toxic" and "entitled"

17 March 2023, 17:33 | Updated: 19 April 2024, 09:54

Jenna Ortega stars in hilarious SNL promo

By Emma Kershaw

'Smallville' producer Steven DeKnight criticised the actress in an interview, which prompted fans to come to her defence.

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Fans of Jenna Ortega have come to her defence after a producer branded her as "entitled and toxic".

The Wednesday actress spoke out about the Netflix show while appearing on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, explaining that her character, Wednesday Addams, didn't "make sense to her".

"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 said in the episode. The 20-year-old went on to explain that there were times on set where she "became almost unprofessional in a sense" and started changing her lines.

In response to Jenna's Wednesday revelations, TV producer and filmmaker Steven DeKnight blasted her in a series of damaging tweets that have seemingly forced the actress to delete her Twitter account.

Jenna Ortega. Picture: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage, Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

"I love talking with actors about their lines/stories," he tweeted to his 49,000 followers. "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."

"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 show-runners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material," he continued.

He added: "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."

I love talking with actors about their lines/stories. 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. https://t.co/jewHLX4bKk
— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 7, 2023

Steven's comments have prompted fans to defend Jenna, stating that she was simply doing what she felt was best for her portrayal.

"I like Steven DeKnight's work, but his take on Jenna Ortega is wack," one user wrote. "She's not toxic. She's standing up for her art and her character. Holding writers accountable for inconsistency and shitty work isn't unprofessional. It's the opposite."

Another added: "I don’t trust people who are calling Jenna Ortega 'entitled' and 'toxic'. She clearly cares about the characters she plays and spoke up when she felt like people were pushing for things that didn’t make sense."

I like Steven DeKnight's work, but his take on Jenna Ortega is wack. She's not toxic. She's standing up for her art and her character. Holding writers accountable for inconsistency and shitty work isn't unprofessional. It's the opposite.
— Brett Perry (@sincitybrett) March 16, 2023

y’all turning jenna ortega into some “toxic” “difficult” actress bc she spoke her mind about something she had an issue with is deeply rooted in misogyny and feels very anti-latina
— ab (@dykevillain) March 16, 2023

How is it that Robert Pattinson can openly hate on twilight and everyone laughs about it but when Jenna Ortega does it with wednesday she gets lashings… https://t.co/soApX3v8aA
— graham (@minathewor1d) March 17, 2023

I don’t trust people who are calling Jenna Ortega “entitled” and “toxic”. She clearly cares about the characters she plays and spoke up when she felt like people were pushing for things that didn’t make sense. She was clearly overworked on the set of Wednesday and did her…+++
— liv (@otbisbrave) March 17, 2023

Since Steven's original Tweets about the Scream VI actress, he has seemingly tried to make amends for his comments.

While he still stands by what he wrote, he went on to call Jenna an "amazing talent" and added that it was "just an unfortunate situation to expose creative differences publicly".