Jenna Ortega.Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
Jenna Ortegais making headlines for the now-infamous viral dance number in her Netflix showWednesday–– but it’s not because of her stellar moves. The actress recently admitted to having COVID while filming the dance scene.
While speaking toNMEthe actressrevealedshe awoke with COVID symptoms on the day of her big scene.
“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,” she told the magazine.
Her test did not come back positive until after she filmed the scene, but she struggled to get through it she felt so unwell.
“It’s crazy,” she added. “Because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film.”
Ortega also thinks if she’d been at 100 percent, she might have danced even better. “I asked to redo it but we didn’t have time,” she admitted. “I think I probably could have done it a bit better…”
Ortega’s COVID admission has sparked a conversation amongst fans as to why the young actress was allowed to shoot after showing symptoms of the contagious virus.
A rep for the actress did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
A spokesperson for MGM, the production company that createsWednesday, said in a statement to PEOPLE that “strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed production removed Jenna from set.”
On reddit, an entire forum is dedicated to the topic, with many upset that she was allowed to be near so many other people during filming. “It’s not even a one on one shot,it was literally a whole dance club scene with a lot of people involved,” wrote one user. “I don’t blame Jenna because she informed them in time but I think it was highly irresponsible of the makers to continue the shoot especially since it involved a crowd.”
Another user chimed also chimed in: “It’s such a failure of those in charge and so disrespectful to anyone on set who is high risk or lives with someone who is.”
Twitter users also shared their thoughts on the situation. “She shouldve been isolated — not made to keep working while feeling ill,“tweeted a user. “forcing jenna ortega to keep working and spreading covid around the set is so negligent of the producers and studio.”
“Jenna Ortega having COVID on set and working unmasked around other unmasked performers is not a flex,” tweeted one user. “She should not be praised for ‘working while sick.’ The above the line crew could’ve possibly disabled or killed someone for their irresponsibility.”
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According to the CDC, a person should isolate if sick and suspect they have COVID but do not yet have test results. If the results are positive, people should follow the full isolation recommendations which include staying away from others for at least five days.
Netflix’s new series, is officially one of Netflix’s most popular shows of all time, having become the first English-language series tosurpass 400 million viewing hoursin a single week.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.
source: people.com
