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Writers on strike call out Jenna Ortega for comments on ‘Wednesday’ script
Jenna Ortega has become the target of tweets and signs during the strike.
One week into the Writers Guild of America strike has passed, with writers around the country joining the picket line, and with plenty of humorous signs and quips on social media making the rounds.
Some writers are honing in on one target, Jenna Ortega, who has come under fire for her comments regarding the writing in season one of ‘Wednesday’.
Ortega called out parts of the script that she felt didn’t make sense for her character, but now those comments are coming back, with some writers taking offense.
When the strike began last Monday, ‘BoJack Horseman’ writer Nick Adams called out the 20-year-old actress, tweeting: “Jenna Ortega better be back from NY for her afternoon shift on the picket line.”
Signs on the picket line echoed a similar sentiment, including one that read “Without writers, Jenna Ortega will have nothing to punch up!”
What did Jenna Ortega say about the ‘Wednesday’ script?
Back in March, Ortega was a guest on the ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast and spoke candidly about the changes she made to the script, to the point of almost becoming “unprofessional”.
“There were times on that set where I almost became unprofessional in a sense, where I just started changing lines,” she recalled.
“The script supervisor thought that I was like, going with something, and then I would have to sit down with the writers and they would be like, ‘Wait, what happened to this scene?’ And I would have to go through and explain why I couldn’t do certain things.”
She continued, “I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down on a set in the way that I had to on Wednesday. Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all.
“Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about a 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.’”
Other actors have voiced criticism of scripts
Ortega’s difficulty with the script was similar to ‘The Witcher’ actor Henry Cavill’s, who played Geralt of Rivia, alleged criticism of ‘The Witcher’ writers.
Cavill reportedly felt the scripts were straying too far from the source material, which ultimately caused him to announce he was leaving the series last year, with the role of Geralt now played by Liam Hemsworth.
“It’s a big deal for us, too... And that’s the thing – there’s a lot of talk and rumors about and we fully understand why fans are going there,” showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich said on Cavill’s exit, without going into detail on why the actor left.