Winona Ryder commented on her sudden viral moment after Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-star and onscreen daughter Jenna Ortega supported her in a frenzied encounter with the press at the Venice Film Festival.
Last week the pair was en route to the Venice premiere for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 horror-fantasy flick Beetlejuice, which reunites Ryder as Lydia Deetz with fellow original stars Michael Keaton in the titular role and Catherine O'Hara returning as Delia Deetz.
Ortega, 21, joins the legendary cast as Astrid, the teen daughter of Ryder's Lydia, who "accidentally" opens the portal to the Afterlife after discovering the model of the town in the attic of the Winter River house the Deetz family moves back into.
In a clip that went viral, an Italian photographer was heard demanding that Ryder remove her sunglasses for photos, to which Ortega suggested Ryder ignore them, telling her, "No, you don't have to."
The internet praised Ortega for having Ryder's back, describing her act of solidarity as "pure queen behavior."
A Hits Radio UK host referred to the viral moment when interviewing Ortega, Ryder, and O'Hara.
"Jenna, the other day at Venice, it was so powerful when you told Winona that she didn't have to take off her sunglasses," said the host, to which Ryder excitedly interjected with:
"I heard about this!"
"Apparently, we were viral," Ryder said.
After receiving confirmation from the host and her co-stars that they did, indeed, go viral, Ryder beamed, brushed her bangs aside, and calmly gushed:
"It's like my first viral moment."
The 52-year-old Stranger Things actor, who emerged in the '80s and '90s with Beetlejuice and other iconic films like Heathers (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and The Age of Innocence (1993), was moved by the support from her younger co-star during the press chaos.
"It was amazing," recalled Ryder when Ortega assured her she didn't have to give in to any pressure to do anything she didn't feel comfortable doing.
Ortega kept it real and agreed with O'Hara who said it was "lovely" and "so simple."
"Yeah, it's so simple," said Ortega, adding:
"That's nothing to praise or applaud. You don't have to take your glasses off. It was hot!"
"They looked cool."
Fans loved Ryder's pure reaction to going viral.
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O'Hara admitted she "succumbed" to the demands of removing her sunglasses but later decided to prioritize her best interests by putting them back on.
Ryder observed that veteran actors do come from a generation where they feel obligated to honor press requests despite having initial misgivings.
However, Ortega noted that exceptions can be accommodated for those who ask favors politely over those who are demanding and rude.
Ryder confirmed that if photographers were barking the same orders at Ortega in the same scenario, she would've "lunged at them."
Fans loved seeing the empowering bond between the women co-stars across three different generations.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens in theaters this Thursday.
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