Jenna Ortega is opening up about feeling “just not good enough” to symbolize her Latinx neighborhood.
In case you missed it, some folks on-line questioned the “Wednesday” star’s heritage final September after the California-born actor’s lack of Spanish fluency was thrust into the highlight.
The discourse stemmed from a viral clip at a style present in Paris, wherein actor Anya Taylor-Pleasure, who grew up in Buenos Aires, was seen introducing her husband in Spanish to Spanish pop star Rosalía and to Ortega, who’s of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent.
Ortega replied to the greeting in English on the time, prompting social media customers to accuse her of being a “fake Latina.”
In an interview with Self-importance Truthful printed Tuesday, the Netflix star stated she feels a “bit of shame” over not being as “in touch” along with her roots as she wish to be.
“I think there’s a part of me that carries a bit of shame. For a second I was almost nervous to speak about my family’s background because I feel like I was made to feel like it wasn’t…,” she stated earlier than trailing off.
“But also, something that I’m learning is it’s not my job to carry the weight of everybody who’s ever had that experience,” Ortega continued.
Rodin Eckenroth through Getty Photos
The “Miller’s Girl” star stated the criticism can really feel like “you’re just not good enough.”
“Because I wasn’t born in a Spanish-speaking country, I know people have a hard time connecting with me,” she added.
Ortega then commented on the underrepresentation of Latinx actors in Hollywood. Whereas nodding to actors like Pedro Pascal and Aubrey Plaza, she spoke about “banding together” to create extra “powerful” onscreen portrayals.
“It’s something that I feel like has not made it through studios’ heads,” she shared. “There needs to be a little more faith in what we bring to the table. Maybe that means all of us banding together a little bit more and creating these projects for ourselves.”
“I would love to be able to craft stories that show how powerful we can be,” she added.
Elsewhere within the interview, Ortega defended how her character is portrayed in “Wednesday,” which has earned the Netflix present each reward and judgment.
Whereas Self-importance Truthful famous that some critics think about Wednesday’s Latina id “undercooked” because of the lack of Spanish within the collection, Ortega argued that she appreciates that Wednesday’s heritage is “not being shoved down your throat.”
“There’s nothing worse than when they have the side Mexican character who’s carrying the flag on their shoulder,” she added. “We’re so much more than that.”
