‘Beetlejuice 2’ star Jenna Ortega shares why film can be a ‘religious experience’
‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice’ star Jenna Ortega tells Fox News Digital that she agrees with Winona Ryder’s comments that movies can be a ‘religious experience.’
Actress Jenna Ortega has always had an interest in horror – starring in shows like "Wednesday," and flicks including "Scream" and "X."
Since becoming a household name as a child, thanks to the Disney Channel, Ortega has experienced a different kind of terror, and it all connects back to artificial intelligence.
"I hate AI," the upcoming "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" actress said on The New York Times' podcast, "The Interview."
'WEDNESDAY' STAR JENNA ORTEGA RESPONDS TO BACKLASH FROM CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS ABOUT SHOW
Acting since she was a child, Jenna Ortega says she received a sexually explicit, AI-generated photo of herself at 14. (Cindy Ord/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
"Here's the thing, AI could be used for incredible things," she said, referencing medical advancements. "Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong. It's disgusting."
Ortega, who previously starred on Disney's "Stuck in the Middle" beginning in 2016, says she was subjected to explicit content from the moment she joined social media.
Jenna Ortega starred in Disney Channel's "Stuck in the Middle" for three seasons. (Adam Taylor/Disney Channel via Getty Images)
"Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong. It's disgusting."
"The first [direct message] I ever opened myself when I was 12 was an unsolicited photo of a man's genitals. And that was just the beginning of what was to come," she shared. Ortega says she was also sent AI-generated child pornography of herself.
"I used to have that Twitter account and I was told that, ‘Oh, you got to do it, you got to build your image.' I ended up deleting it about two to three years ago because the influx after the show ['Wednesday'] had come out, of these absurd images and photos, which is so repulsive, and I already was in a confused state that I just deleted it because it was unnecessary, and I didn't need that."
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Jenna Ortega appears at the "Wednesday" world premiere in Hollywood. (Michael Tullberg/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Ortega stars as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series, "Wednesday," a spinoff from the original "The Addams Family" series, which premiered in 1964. The show generated immense interest, and video from the show of Ortega dancing in character exploded on the Internet.
The actress, now 21, says she previously used Twitter (now X) to make political and personal statements.
Jenna Ortega decided the best way to combat the content issue was to delete her Twitter account. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
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"And then I was grated with this stuff and it's just disgusting," she said, adding that the content she'd encountered made her feel "bad" and "uncomfortable."
"I deleted it because I couldn't say anything without seeing something like that. And I don't need to be seeing that every day. So, one day I just woke up and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t need this anymore.' So I dropped it."
Jenna Ortega was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on "Wednesday." (Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Paramount+)
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Ortega says she's "learning" how to protect herself. She does still have an Instagram account.
A representative for the actress did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
