Jenna Ortega Responds toMiller's GirlSex Scene Controversy: 'It's Not Supposed to Be a Comfortable Movie'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jenna Ortega in Miller’s Girl.Photo:Zac Popik/Lionsgate

Zac Popik/Lionsgate

Jenna Ortegais addressing thecontroversy that surrounded the subject matterof her filmMiller’s Girl.

In aVanity Faircover story, theBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceactress pointed out, “It’s not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It’s supposed to be awful at times."

“Art isn’t always meant to be pleasant or happy and everyone skips off into the sunset at the end," Ortega added. “We all have f—ed up experiences at one point or another.”

Miller’s Girlstarred Ortega as an 18-year-old high school student named Cairo who grows close with her writing teacher, a struggling author whom her friends suggest she try to seduce.

Jenna Ortega in Miller’s Girl.Zac Popik/Lionsgate

Freeman previously addressed the age difference dynamic in the film while speaking with the U.K. outletThe Timesin April, when he described the movie as “grown-up and nuanced.”

“It’s not saying, ‘Isn’t this great?’ " Freeman said at the time. “Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?”

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Back in February, Kristina Arjona, an intimacy coordinator who worked onMiller’s Girl, toldThe Daily Mailthat Ortega and Freeman felt comfortable with sex scenes they performed for that movie.

“There [were] many, many people throughout this process engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,” she said at the time.

Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega.Dave Benett/Getty Images for dunhill; Michael Tullberg/Getty

Dave Benett/Getty Images for dunhill; Michael Tullberg/Getty

Ortega will next appear on the big screen inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, as well as the upcoming second season of her Netflix seriesWednesday. While Ortega did not reveal much about the upcoming movie’s story, she expressed a significant level of appreciation for working with director Tim Burton, as well as costarsWinona Ryder,Willem DafoeandMichael Keaton.

“Every time I walked onto that set, I wanted to remember it for the rest of my life,” she toldVanity Fair.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis in theaters Sept. 6.

source: people.com