Previously, the 58-year-old TV producer, who has not worked with the 'Wednesday' star, blasted her after she said on Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast that she 'became almost unprofessional' while filming the hit Netflix series.
- Mar 17, 2023
AceShowbiz - Producer Steven DeKnight has a change of heart about his comment regarding Jenna Ortega. The "Spartacus" producer has walked back her stinging attack on the "Wednesday" star after calling her "entitled and toxic."
On Wednesday, March 5, the 58-year-old director made use of his Twitter page to address the matter after pushback from "Wednesday" fans. He posted, "She's an amazing talent. It was just an unfortunate situation to expose creative differences publicly, and also I'll admit that writers are on edge because of the impending strike, myself included. A perfect storm."
Steven went on calling Jenna "fantastic" and said that it was "a learning experience for everyone." He added, "She's fantastic, which I keep saying over and over. It was an unfortunate gaffe to say that publicly. We've all had them. Learning experience for everyone. Me included."
He concluded his thread with a tweet that read, "Back to work. Try, as always, to be kind to each other even when we vehemently disagree. And yes, there are times that I need to heed my own advice. We are all emotional works-in-progress. Love to all of you."
The drama began with her appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, in which she told Dax of the steps she took on behalf of her character on the Netflix series. "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'."
The 20-year-old actress, who also stars in "Scream VI", told Dax, "I became almost unprofessional in a sense, where I just started changing lines. I had to sit down with the writers, and they'd be like, 'Wait, what happened to the scene?' And I'd have to go and explain why I couldn't go do certain things."
Steven, who has not worked with Jenna, blasted the former Disney Channel actress on Twitter, saying, "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 showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material." He also wrote of her comments to Dax, "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."
Steven's credits include "Spartacus", "Smallville", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". He also directed "Pacific Rim: Uprising". Meanwhile, "Wednesday", which is produced by Tim Burton, was renewed for a second season in January.
