Wednesday star Jenna Ortega filmed iconic dance scene with COVID

Jenna Ortega gets backlash for COVID dance story. (Netflix)

Wednesday fans have shared their shock after Jenna Ortega revealed she had tested positive for COVID shortly before filming her iconic dance scene.

In an interview with NME, Ortega gave the back story for the school disco dance scene, which has since gone viral after being set to Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary”.

Talking about how she brought the spooky dance together, she told the magazine: “I just pulled from whatever I could… it’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film.

“I woke up – it’s weird, I never get sick and when I do it’s not very bad – I had the body aches. I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my oesophagus.

“They are giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on a positive result.”

Although the production company and Ortega herself confirmed she left set as soon as the result came back positive, some viewers have criticised the lack of action by both Ortega and the production company.

A still from new Netflix series Wednesday shows actors Emma Myers and Jenna Ortega as characters as Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams dressed in their school uniform costumes Enid Sinclair (L) and Wednesday (R). (Netflix)
Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair. (Netflix)

As one person wrote: “We all agree that this is not some ‘persevering through hardship’ moment, it’s a why the f**k didn’t she get sent home, she could get horrendously sick or infect others kinda moment.”

Others agreed, confused at people praising her for battling through illness to film the scene when she should have been isolating. 

“Jenna Ortega filming that dance scene while she had Covid is not impressive, it’s horrible. Absolutely callous disregard for her coworkers,” another wrote

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One person even reflected it was “everything wrong with America’s reaction to Covid”, adding “she should have been masked and home.”

Ortega said that she had hoped to “redo it” thinking she “probably could have done it a bit better”, but Burton thought the scene was perfect as it was.

After the scene went viral – and not in the infectious sense of the word – Lady Gaga praised Wednesday, and the fans who set it to her track, “Bloody Mary”.

“Slay Wednesday! You’re welcome at Haus of Gaga anytime (and bring Thing with you, we love paws around here)” she tweeted.

Jenna Ortega is no stranger to viral moments since Wednesday came out, with one clip of her supposedly waving to a lesbian flag during the Brazil Comic Con making waves. 

Despite the LGBTQ+ community celebrating Ortega’s excitement at lesbians and noting that she also pointed at herself, unfortunately it seems to be not be the full story. 

Someone in the crowd at the time has come out to say that Ortega was actually pointing to their Wednesday cosplay.

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