Jenna Ortega may have made her acting debut in the entertainment industry by starring in comedic roles in sitcoms like her lead role as Harley Diaz in Disney’s Stuck in the Middle (2016-2018), but the genre she is best renowned for is indeed horror. As a 21-year-old, not only has she bagged prominent roles in two Scream films, but she has even had her own superhit series, Wednesday.
Because of her immaculate performances in the horror/thriller genre, people bestowed the honor of calling her the ultimate ‘Scream Queen’, even though she recently exited Scream 7. However, Jenna Ortega doesn’t approve of fans honoring her with that and strongly feels that she doesn’t deserve this title in Hollywood. Here’s why.
Jenna Ortega Doesn’t Feel Deserving of the Title ‘Scream Queen’
The titular character of Netflix’s critically commended horror series Wednesday, Jenna Ortega has given some of her most spectacular performances in all of her projects in the horror, thriller, mystery, and supernatural genre.
With her iconic portrayal of Tara Carpenter in Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023) adding another star to her remarkable performances in the related field, fans even started calling her the ‘Scream Queen’. However, the X actress doesn’t approve of this.
During a recent interview with PEOPLE, Ortega admitted to her love for the very genre she is best known for. But at the same time, she also mentioned how she “can’t claim” the title of “Scream Queen” due to reasons of her own:
“I respect the title too much, and I want to give it to so many other people,” she said.
As it turns out, that is hardly the case. Ortega left Scream 7 due to reasons that had previously been cited as ‘scheduling conflicts’ with Wednesday, and then later cited to be ‘salary disputes’ by THR (via ScreenRant).
According to this source, she reportedly wanted to have a higher salary in ‘seven figures’ as opposed to her salary for the previous two installments of the Scream saga, which was reportedly in ‘six figures’. When her demand wasn’t met, she left the film.
As for whether she would continue to work in the horror genre or not, here’s Jenna Ortega’s answer.
Jenna Ortega Wants to “Do Horror Until I Die”
Turns out fans don’t need to worry about losing Jenna Ortega from the horror genre. According to what she revealed in the interview with PEOPLE, “horror is everything” to her and will “always be home” for her.
“I would do horror until I die. It’s the best.”
As for why it’s the best, it’s because be it romance, drama, comedy, or scary, the horror genre “encapsulates everything,” as per the Miller’s Girl star. Gushing on and on about the genre, she continued to say:
“[Horror projects are] adrenaline-inducing and ignite passion in people, even scaredy-cats. I try to watch as much as I can just for my job, which is wonderful because movies are my favorite thing in the world, and I get to call that homework. So I think there’s just something really, really beautiful about horror and profound.”
So there you have it: Even though Jenna Ortega doesn’t feel worthy of being the owner of the title ‘Scream Queen’, she is still one who would continue to work in the horror genre “until I die”!
