Jenna Ortega recounts ‘terrifying’ experience that made her delete social media account

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Wednesday' star Jenna Ortega recently revealed that she deleted her X (formerly Twitter) account upon witnessing several suggestive images, one of which was an artificial intelligence or AI-generated image of her.

In a recent chat with the New York Times' 'The Interview' podcast, the 21-year-old actor discussed a "terrifying" online experience she had as a teenager. She explained how it affected her perception of AI and drove her to delete her X account.

Jenna Ortega quit X upon discovering explicit AI images of herself as a teenager

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' star Jenna Ortega did not hold back when asked about her thoughts on artificial intelligence. She also disclosed being flooded with fan mail that she described as "absurd" to "disgusting".

Ortega exclaimed, "I hate AI. I mean, here’s the thing: AI could be used for incredible things."

"I think I saw something the other day where they were saying that artificial intelligence was able to detect breast cancer four years before it progressed. That’s beautiful. Let’s keep it to that."

The 'Wednesday' star continued, saying that she had personally witnessed instances of people using AI to threaten or harm other people.

"Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong," Ortega added.

Ortega also mentioned that she encountered graphic AI-generated images of herself as a youngster and that she read one of the initial direct messages on the social media platform that included an "unsolicited photo of a man’s genitals".

"And that was just the beginning of what was to come," she said to 'Interview' co-host Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

Jenna Ortega created social media account to improve her 'image'

Jenna Ortega said initially she was told creating an account on the website was something she "had to do" in order to improve her "image".

However, she had to deactivate her X account after getting an "influx" of "absurd images and photos" when the popular Netflix series 'Wednesday' was released, per HuffPost.

"I already was in a confused state that I just deleted it," she remarked. Ortega described the messages' experience as "disgusting", noting that it left her feeling "bad" and "uncomfortable".

She continued: "It was disgusting, and it made me feel bad. It made me feel uncomfortable. Anyway, that’s why I deleted it, because I couldn’t say anything without seeing something like that."

"So one day I just woke up, and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t need this anymore.’ So I dropped it."

Ortega added she's still learning ways to defend herself and that she makes an effort to put her phone away "as much as I can".

"I’m always walking. If you’re ever wondering what I’m doing, if my parents are ever wondering, if I’m not at work, or in some sort of meeting, I am outside doing laps. I am in a random garden, I am laying, taking a nap in a field," she explained.

Ortega has recently been promoting her part in Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' which is premiering at the Venice Film Festival and hitting theaters on September 6 from Warner Bros, per Variety.

Fans support Jenna Ortega and demand 'more regulations on AI content'

Social media users took to X to support 'Wednesday' star Jenna Ortega, while adding how AI-generated content has been affecting people in real life.

One such X user wrote, "That’s so messed up, there needs to be more regulations on AI content."

A second user added, "We need to regulate ai IMMEDIATELY."

"Jenna did NOT have to go through this ... ai always is going out of hand or it goes in the wrong hands," noted a third user.

Another said, "This is so sad and disturbing . we genuinely need stricter laws to stop digital sexual harassment."

Another exclaimed, "This is so disgusting nobody should ever go through that!"

"No women should feel unsafe bc of ai. it literally ruined society. i feel so bad for her that was traumatic :(" chimed in one.

One remarked, "I totally understand and its beyond disgusting."

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