Jenna Ortega wins MTV award amid criticism from striking WGA writers

Jenna Ortega, the star of Netflix’s Wednesday, emerged victorious at the 2023 MTV Awards by winning Best Performance in a Show on Sunday.

However, the win was not without controversy, as she faced criticism from striking writers who were upset with her for admitting to making changes to the show’s script.

Back in March, Ortega appeared on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast and revealed that she had changed many of her character’s lines unilaterally, saying she didn’t always see eye to eye with the writers on her character’s behavior.

“Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all”.

Her comments led to criticism from the striking writers of Hollywood, who poked fun at her statements in their placards.

Despite the backlash from the writers, Ortega won in a stacked category.

She was up against acclaimed actors including Aubrey Plaza, for her role of a suspicious wife in the second season of the HBO series The White Lotus.

Some other stars contending for the golden popcorn were, Christina Ricci (for her disturbing role in Yellowjackets), Sadie Sink (who played Max in Stranger Things), and Selena Gomez (for Only Murders In The Building).

A few stars, including Tom Cruise, Pedro Pascal, and Jennifer Coolidge accepted their awards virtually, but Ortega, who wasn’t present at the event, did not even accept her award virtually, so the show went on without a pause.

Ortega’s hit Adam’s Family spin-off has been renewed for another season by Netflix.