No, Jenna Ortega Did Not Have an Affair with Diddy to Land the Lead Role in Wednesday

A viral Instagram post recently sparked rumors suggesting that actress Jenna Ortega, best known for her role as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s hit series Wednesday, secured the role through an alleged affair with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. The post, which appeared on October 10, 2024, from an account with the username @vibes_with_moonlight, claimed that a “leaked video” showed Ortega admitting to the affair and receiving $45 million for the role. However, this sensational claim is entirely false and has been thoroughly debunked.

The Instagram post gained attention with its bold, misleading caption: “Problem no dey finish: SHOCK NEWS: Leaked Video Jenna Ortega ‘ADMITS’ To Sleeping With Diddy To Get The Lead Role In The Movie Wednesday And The Amount Of 45 Million Usd. VIDEO ADMITS FOR Jenna Ortega.” Despite its eye-catching language, the post provided no actual evidence or video to support these claims, leading many to question its validity.

Upon further investigation, it is clear that no such video exists, and there is no credible source to substantiate the allegations made in the post. The rumor appears to have gained traction due to a combination of recent buzz surrounding both Ortega and Diddy. While Netflix released behind-the-scenes content for Wednesday Season 2, Diddy has faced legal troubles with unrelated charges. However, there is no connection between these two events, and the claim of an affair is baseless.

In reality, Jenna Ortega’s casting as the iconic character of Wednesday Addams was based on her impressive talent and the precision of her performance. In a 2023 interview with ScreenRant, Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar explained that Ortega was chosen for her ability to embody the character’s dark, stoic persona.

“The lead of any show becomes your collaborator in the show, they just do,” Gough said. “There’s a precision to Jenna’s performance, there’s a precision to how the character’s written, and there’s a precision to what Tim [Burton] does.”

Ortega’s casting was a decision made with care, after extensive discussions among the show’s creators and producer Tim Burton. Ortega’s commitment to the role and her previous work in films such as X and Scream showcased her range, which helped her stand out from the list of potential actresses.

Interestingly, Ortega wasn’t immediately eager to take on the role of Wednesday Addams. In a September 2024 interview with Far Out Magazine, the actress revealed that she initially hesitated to accept the part because she wanted to focus on film roles rather than television. However, after multiple offers and personal outreach from Tim Burton himself, Ortega finally agreed to take on the role that would later become one of her most iconic.

In a separate interview with Wired in 2022, Ortega shared her unique audition experience for Wednesday. She revealed that she auditioned for Tim Burton over Zoom after filming a particularly intense, blood-soaked scene from her horror movie X. “I had stage blood and glycerin sweat in my hair and a massive cut on my face and had been up for over 24 hours. I got on the Zoom, and he [Burton] actually laughed. It made me laugh. I thought it was endearing,” she recalled.

The second season of Wednesday is currently in production, with filming underway in Ireland. The main cast, including Emma Myers, Luis Guzmán, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, are set to reprise their roles as Enid, Gomez Addams, and Morticia Addams. New cast members, including Thandie Newton and Billie Piper, will also join the show, though details of their roles remain under wraps.

It remains unclear if Christina Ricci, who portrayed the character Marilyn Thornhill in the first season and played Wednesday Addams in the 1990s films, will return for the new season. Fans are eagerly awaiting more news about the show’s next chapter, which is expected to hit Netflix in 2025.

The claims that Jenna Ortega secured her lead role in Wednesday through an affair with Diddy are entirely false. These baseless rumors likely emerged due to the timing of behind-the-scenes content from the show and Diddy’s unrelated legal issues. In truth, Ortega earned her role through talent, hard work, and her ability to capture the essence of Wednesday Addams. Neither Ortega nor Diddy have addressed the rumors, as they hold no merit, and there is no evidence to support them.