Jenna Ortega tears up over feeling the pressures of social media: ‘it gets ugly’

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega recently opened up about feeling the pressures of social media. In a conversation with Elle Fanning, the actress teared up while talking about her social media anxiety. She revealed that she had been under tremendous pressure to grow her fan base, from a young age. 

“When I was younger, they would take us to media training — Disney 101 or something like that — where they would say, ‘You’re going to post three times a day. This is how you build followers, engage, and promote our show. You could go into an audition or meeting, and it was, ‘How many followers do you have?’” 

Ortega began to cry as she talked about how her "sarcastic" and "dry" sense of humour makes it "very easy" for her to get herself "in trouble". She admitted that sometimes she hesitates before posting something online for fear of it being misconstrued. The Stuck in the Middle actress remarked on how "strange" it is to attempt to be honest, "without putting your own health and safety at risk."

Internet attacks Ortega for script changes in Wednesday 

(Jenna Ortega in and as Wednesday | Image: Netflix) 

Ortega received criticism on the internet when she revealed that she asked for changes in the script of her Netflix show Wednesday. The actress admitted debating decisions while filming ang getting changes made.  Netizens called her out for being “unprofessional” as actors are supposed to talk to the writers and not change lines themselves.

Ortega’s ‘controversial’ friendship with Percy Hynes White

(Jenna Ortega with Wednesday co-star Percy Hynes White | Image: AP) 

In another incident, the 20-year-old came under fire when she reaffirmed her friendship with her Wednesday co-star Percy Hynes White. Percy was accused of sexual assault and using racial slurs, earlier this year. She even referred to The Gifted actor as one of her best friends on the show. Ortega spoke of their close bond, specifically mentioning Percy and Georgie Farmer, who lived in the same flat block as her.