The Netflix original series Wednesday has garnered quite a following since the platform launched in November 2022, with viewers praising Jenna Ortega for her iteration of Nevermore Misfit Wednesday Addams.
Since its release, an iconic dance scene featured on the show has gone viral, all of which were performed by Ortega while she was ill with Covid.
In a November 2022 Interview with NMEOrtega said:
“I woke up with body aches. I felt like I had just been hit by a car the day before and I felt like a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus so I definitely felt it. They gave me medication between takes because we were waiting for the positive result.”
That Wednesday Star also described how she felt the day she performed the famous dance number: “It’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film and I asked to do it again but we didn’t have time, so that’s another thing too, I’m like, ‘Oh man, I probably wasn’t at my best when I did that.’”
MGM, the production company for the Wednesday series, revealed in an email to NME that “strict COVID protocols were being followed and as soon as the positive test was confirmed, the production removed Jenna from the set.”
Jenna Ortega performed a dance scene with COVID on Wednesday
The well-received sequence features dancing to punk rock band The Cramps’ ’80s cover song “Goo Goo Muck” at Wednesday’s Outcast School Rave’N event.
When asked by NME how she came up with the routine, Ortega said:
“I just drew from everything I could. Realized two nights ago that I really need to throw something together and I’ve watched a lot of Fosse, I’ve watched videos of goth clubs in the 80’s, I’ve watched Siouxsie and the Banshees because she was a reference, Lene Lovich. ”
The social media impact of Jenna Ortega’s dance scene on Wednesday
The routine has since been reenacted by many TikTok users, garnering more than 11 million views of the video clip Netflix added to their YouTube account on November 25, 2022.
It’s clear to see how the scene gained so much popularity as Ortega moved flawlessly across the dance floor.
You can see here what the popular scene audience is raving about:
What did you think of the dance routine on the show? All eight episodes from Wednesday are available on Netflix.