Jenna Ortega says she received ‘disgusting’ direct messages as a child actress

27 August 2024, 16:53

By Sam Prance

Jenna Ortega was encouraged to get involved in social media from a young age, but immediately saw “dirty edited content” of her as a child.

Jenna Ortega has spoken openly about why she no longer uses X/Twitter and the “disgusting” direct messages she received as a child.

Jenna Ortega is perhaps best known for her roles in Wednesday and the Scream Movies these days, but she has been an actress since she was just 10 years old. In 2013, she appeared in Iron Man 3. She then gained international fame after playing the lead role of Harley Diaz in In the middle on the Disney Channel. Jenna also starred in Jane, the Virgin And You.

As a child actress, Jenna was encouraged to use social media, but now she explains that she really struggled with it.

Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega on the set of “Taste”

Speaking to the New York Times, Jenna said she was exposed to sexually explicit deepfakes of herself on X/Twitter as a child. She said, “Did I enjoy opening a Twitter account at 14 because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of myself as a child? No. It's horrifying. It's corrupt. It's wrong.”

Jenna added that the first DM she ever opened was “an unsolicited photo of a guy's genitals.” She was just 12 years old at the time. She opened the account because managers encouraged her to do so: “I used to have this Twitter account and I was told, 'Oh, you have to do it, you have to build your image.'”

Jenna then explained that it became too much after WednesdayShe said: “I deleted it about two or three years ago because there was so much fuss after the show was released – these absurd images and photos, and I was already so confused that I just deleted it.”

Jenna further explained her decision, adding, “It was disgusting and I felt bad. I felt uncomfortable. Anyway, that's why I deleted it because I couldn't say anything without seeing something like that. One day I just woke up and was like, 'Oh, I don't need this anymore.' So I dropped it.”

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