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An actress was in hot water for causally mentioning in an interview that she tested positive for COVID-19 while filming a talked-about scene on the set of a new popular Netflix series.
Prior to the leaked controversy, viewers who have been watching Netflix's Addams Family spin-off series, Wednesday, couldn't stop talking about one particular scene from the eight-episode series centered on the family's creepy goth daughter.
Actress Jenna Ortega captivated audiences with her character's wildly hypnotic dance moves at her school dance.
In episode four, Wednesday cut a rug to the song, “Goo Goo Muck” by the Cramps.
Here is a clip of the dazzling scene fans of the show can't seem to get enough of.
\u201cDancing is one of my favorite things to do. Along with gravedigging, conducting autopsies, and glaring uncomfortably.\u201d— Wednesday Addams (@Wednesday Addams) 1669395602
Her killer performance with a deadpan expression inspired TikTokers like the one below to recreate the moment on video adding their own twist.
@emilymeding Double trouble #wednesday#wednesdayaddams#jennaortega#addamsfamily#wednsdaydance#fakebody#fyp#dance#trend#viral#fypシ
In a behind-the-scenes video interview, Ortega said she didn't anticipate the scene becoming so popular.
She also admitted to feeling "insecure" during filming since the 20-year-old actress came up with Wednesday's moves in the dance scene herself.
Said, Ortega:
“I actually felt really insecure about this. I choreographed that myself and I think it’s very obvious that I’m not a dancer or a choreographer."
Speaking to NME, Ortega let it slip that she was battling COVID through the dance scene.
She recalled:
"I’d gotten the song [The Cramps’ 1981 single ‘Goo Goo Muck’] about a week before and I just pulled from whatever I could… it’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film.”
Cue record scratch.
Say what?
The actress explained:
“Yeah, I woke up and – 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 esophagus."
"They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result.”
The company behind the production for Wednesday, MGM, had previously stated:
“strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed production removed Jenna from set.”
Ortega added:
“I asked to redo it but we didn’t have time. I think I probably could have done it a bit better…”
Meanwhile, there was an online uproar at hearing about how the actress was still allowed on set without an official negative COVID-19 test result.
Social media users slammed the show's producers and the director, Tim Burton, for allowing an unmasked Ortega to put others involved in production at risk for the highly contagious virus.
jenna ortega filming a whole scene while waiting for her covid test results AND with obvious symptoms isn’t “profes… https://t.co/jsway9pJzS— shir (@shir) 1670029421
jenna ortega filming that dance scene while she had covid is not impressive, it’s horrible. absolutely callous disregard for her coworkers.— Teresa (@Teresa) 1670103925
i love jenna ortega but why on earth does she sound like she's bragging about working while super sick and waiting… https://t.co/KKWR7hD5pU— j. (@j.) 1669657098
\u201cDisappointed to learn that Jenna Ortega had COVID symptoms on set but was still allowed to film the Wednesday dance scene while she waited for her positive test result. I wonder how many people got sick? And how many people those people got sick?\u201d— Lola M\u00e9ndez (@Lola M\u00e9ndez) 1669739765
\u201c@MeetJess Why don\u2019t they have daily PCR testing and everyone masking, if they\u2019re not on camera.? \n\nWhy don\u2019t they have proper ventilation and air purification on set ?? \n\nI thought TV and film crews had this stuff covered.\u201d— Jess (@Jess) 1670357471
\u201cjenna ortega seems chill, and that dance in the new wednesday show is cool, but no one else finds it concerning that she admitted she had covid during that scene? like even if she was waiting for the test to come back, why not delay filming? she put the cast and crew at risk\u201d— garbo (@garbo) 1669674884
\u201cI'm seeing so many people respond to finding out Jenna Ortega had covid whilst filming the dance scene with 'omg, how dedicated is she?!' when my first reaction upon hearing it was absolute horror for her and the people around her.\u201d— Erin Ekins (she/her) (@Erin Ekins (she/her)) 1670321165
\u201cwell, "viral" is definitely one way to put it\nhttps://t.co/8aR2zQoFXu\u201d— Wendi Muse (@Wendi Muse) 1670347044
Entertainment unions like the Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), have reached an extension agreement in October 2022 to ensure a safe return to work environment on many productions through January 2023, with:
"The strictest protocols be implemented on productions occurring in any metropolitan area or county with 14 or more COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population."
The SAG union's website added:
"Importantly, employers retain the right to adopt more stringent requirements regarding masking and testing on a production-by-production basis and to mandate that employees in Zone A be 'up-to-date' on their vaccinations."