Jenna Ortega may be a darling of the streaming era, but the actress is getting candid about life as a digital celebrity.
During an interview for Variety’s Actors on Actors published Wednesday, Ortega, who stars as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s hit black comedy “Wednesday,” spoke to actress Elle Fanning about his relationship with social media, which she says can get “ugly”.
“Even after I did ‘Wednesday,’ when I was auditioning for certain roles, they would come on my team, ‘We love her, but we just don’t know if she’s got enough platform or enough name'” said Ortega. “And social media, what they do to anyone our age, is such a comparison game. It almost influences the bandwagon mentality. … It’s very manipulative.
Ortega said she has become more reserved and anxious about how she expresses herself on social media.
“Because I naturally tend to be sarcastic or dry, it’s very easy for me to get into trouble,” Ortega said. “I want people to get to know the people behind the camera and realize that people should never be put on a pedestal.”
The conversation turned emotional for Ortega, who cried as he discussed the difficulty of being misinterpreted online. “The more I’ve been exposed to the world, the more people feed off of it and enjoy it,” she said. “They see your vulnerability and twist it in ways you don’t always expect.”
She added: “It’s such a difficult thing to balance, because how can you be honest without putting your own health and safety at risk?” It’s very easy to feel almost out of control.
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Ortega said her relationship with social media has improved in recent years and she still maintains a desire to share her honest identity as a public figure.
“I still have this really, really intense need to be human, honest and authentic,” Ortega said. “Another thing about this industry is you get in front of a camera and people want you to be something else, where it’s ‘Do you have more energy’ or ‘Can you smile a little more ?’ and it’s so disgusting. And I don’t want to feel rude. I’d rather people see me crying and messing around than being something that I’m not.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jenna Ortega and Elle Fanning talk about the ‘manipulative’ side of social media