Jenna Ortega Says Hollywood Is Too ‘Touchy Feely’: Being ‘Politically Correct’ Makes People Lose ‘Integrity’
Jenna Ortega is finally speaking out about the controversy surrounding “Scream 7.”
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Ortega was asked about her support of Palestine amid the Gaza conflict. Her “Scream” franchise co-star Melissa Barrera was fired for sharing comments that production company Spyglass Entertainment deemed antisemitic. Ortega also later exited the film citing production conflicts with Season 2 of Netflix series “Wednesday.”
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Now, Ortega is making a statement for Hollywood as a whole when it comes to the intersection between celebrity and politics.
“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely,” Ortega said. “Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty.”
The actress continued, “I wish that we had a better sense of conversation. Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument. Am I describing world peace?”
After both Ortega and Barrera left the planned franchise installment, “Scream 7” was reworked with new writers and a new director to now center on Neve Campbell’s character Sidney Prescott. Campbell had previously parted ways with the franchise amid salary disputes; “Scream 6” was the first franchise film that she did not appear in, although her character was referenced.
Later in a video for Vanity Fair, Ortega recalled being given some arguably non-PC advice from a “Wednesday” cello instructor (Ortega’s titular character plays the instrument in the series.)
“The show that I do right now I have to play the cello, and I don’t play the cello,” Ortega said. “I want it to look real so that cellists don’t look at it and call me mean names. My teacher told me that as long as I look confident in my movements and I was strong and stoic and, you know, fully embodied the character that it would be fine. She told me that I just needed to approach everything I do in life with the confidence of the average white man. That changed my life. That made me feel better.”
She added, “I was nervous even to do this [interview] because I ramble like crazy. Like what am I going to talk about this whole time? Then I just remembered: How would an average white man do this? And he probably would’ve shown up with mismatched socks.”
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