MGM, the company behind Wednesday, is facing a lot of criticism after Jenna Ortega revealed she had Covid-19 while filming her viral dance scene.
With memorable appearances in series like Stuck in the middle, Jane the Virginand youit’s no surprise that actor Jenna Ortega received acclaim for her recent performance in Tim Burton’s comedy horror series Wednesday. Yet, despite the critical acclaim, Buzzfeed news is noted Wednesday is getting some serious backlash after Ortega revealed she had Covid-19 while filming her viral dance scene for the new Tim Burton show while speaking to NME.
Initially, the actor was chatting about her amazing moves for Wednesday Addams’ wonderfully quirky dance. “I choreographed that myself!” she said proudly. “I’m not a dancer and I’m sure that’s obvious. I was given the number [The Cramps’ 1981 single ‘Goo Goo Muck’] about a week earlier and I just took out everything I could….” She then surprised the outlet by saying, “It’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was horrible to film.”
Ortega also revealed what it felt like to have Covid-19. “Yeah I woke up and – it’s weird, I never get sick and if I do it’s okay – my body was aching. It felt like I had been hit by a car and a little goblin had been released in my throat and scratched the walls of my esophagus. In between doses they gave me medicine because we waited for the positive result.”
Many expressed harsh criticism that Jenna Ortega filmed while sick with COVID-19 on Wednesday
MGM (the production company behind the series) told NME via email that “strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed, production removed Jenna from the set.” Still, Buzzfeed reported that many people weren’t too thrilled about the situation. Sharing some comments from Redditorssaid one user, “It’s such a failure from the executives and so disrespectful to anyone on set who is high risk or living with someone who is.”
A second user commented, “It’s not even a one-on-one shot, it was literally a whole dance club scene with a lot of people involved. I don’t blame Jenna for informing them in time, but I think it’s very was irresponsible of the makers to continue shooting, especially since a crowd was involved.
While a third wrote: “This is an irresponsible practice for a production of this size. Anyone who is even remotely symptomatic is supposed to be kept off set until the test comes back with a result. I’m sure hers are positive on the set like this caused spread to other cast members, crew and background performers. I would be so upset if I was on this show!”