‘Wednesday’ star Jenna Ortega reveals she had coronavirus while shooting viral dance number

Jenna Ortega, who played the lead role in the hit Netflix series 'Wednesday', recently sat down for an interview and talked about her iconic viral dance number that made waves online for weeks. The actress revealed that she shot the scene while suffering from COVID-19.

"It’s crazy because it was my first day with Covid so it was awful to film,"Ortega told NME magazine. "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. I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus. They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result."

Her positive test came after she had filmed the scene, and even though she wanted to take a second take, she couldn't because she felt so unwell.

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"I choreographed that myself!" Ortega said. "I'm not a dancer and I'm sure that's obvious. I'd gotten the song ["Goo Goo Muck" by The Cramps] about a week before and I just pulled from whatever I could."

MGM, the production company that created 'Wednesday', gave an official statement to NME magazine and shared that "strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed production removed Jenna from the set".

Watch the viral dance number here:

Ortega's interview has sparked a conversation among her fans. While many have praised the star for working while being sick, others have criticised the whole scenario as it could have resulted in more COVID-19 positive cases.

"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."

Another wrote,"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."

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