MOVIE NEWS – Wednesday star Jenna Ortega has added her voice to the growing list of celebrities who are pushing back against the trend of political correctness in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Ortega discussed her role in the highly anticipated sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the upcoming second season of Wednesday, and shared her candid thoughts on the current state of political correctness. Her comments follow the backlash faced by one of her former co-stars who made controversial statements.

Ortega criticized the push for political correctness, arguing that it forces people to take positions that “lack honesty.” Her comments came shortly after her Scream 7 co-star Melissa Barrera was fired for social media posts about Israel, which Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind Scream, labeled as “antisemitic” and “hate speech.” Ortega, who exited the film the next day citing scheduling conflicts, clearly expressed her disapproval of the situation. Though she didn’t directly address Barrera’s firing, she criticized the tendency to rush to judgment.

“Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it.”

Wednesday is known for its dark humor, tinged with violent cynicism, a hallmark of creator Tim Burton. Ortega, the series’ lead, unsurprisingly spoke out against the trend of political correctness in Hollywood. When political correctness merges with cancel culture, it can have significant consequences for actors like Barrera. Ortega told Vanity Fair:

“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely. Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty. I wish that we had a better sense of conversation. Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument.”

Barrera was fired in November 2023 after accusing Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” in Gaza in a series of social media posts, including sharing content that claimed Israel was using “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.” Israel has been conducting raids in Gaza, targeting Hamas terrorists and rescuing hostages following the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, which resulted in thousands of deaths and hundreds of kidnappings. The Council on Foreign Relations clarifies that Hamas directly governs Gaza.

Ortega has expressed her support for Palestine but has been careful with her statements. Barrera’s repeated posts and allegations of genocide led to her firing by Spyglass, which stated, “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

Celebrities Push Back Against Political Correctness

Ortega is not the only celebrity resisting the push for political correctness. In April, Jerry Seinfeld stirred controversy when he claimed that television comedy is suffering due to the influence of the “extreme left and P.C. crap.” This was a surprising statement from a staunch liberal, but he is not alone. Steve Harvey has also commented that “political correctness is killing comedy,” a sentiment shared by many comedians.

Barrera’s firing highlights that backlash against controversial comments crosses political lines. Her remarks involving the Holocaust are similar to those of former Mandalorian actress Gina Carano, who was fired by Disney for a tweet also referencing the Holocaust. Carano is currently suing Disney, claiming she was fired, while her male co-star Pedro Pascal faced no consequences for an Instagram post featuring a Nazi flag in reference to current politics. A Newsweek editorial also criticized Pascal for a tweet that drew a Nazi analogy to current political events.

Ortega expressed her frustration with the fine line celebrities must walk when expressing their personal opinions. Despite her rapid rise to fame in recent years, she told Vanity Fair that she finds the current celebrity culture “absolutely ridiculous.”

Source: MovieWeb