The Hollywood Producer Who Called Jenna Ortega ‘Toxic’ And ‘Entitled’ Is Clarifying his Remarks After Backlash

Hollywood producer Steven DeKnight has significantly back tracked after calling Jenna Ortega “toxic” and “entitled.” DeKnight, who worked on the Netflix series Daredevil and Jupiter’s Legacy and directed Pacific Rim: Uprising, blasted Ortega for her remarks about changing her lines on Wednesday and criticizing the writers in public.

Via Twitter:

“I love talking with actors about their lines/stories. But by the nature of the beast, they don’t have the full picture (in TV) of where the story is going and why some lines are needed for the whole to make sense. She’s young, so maybe she doesn’t know any better (but she should). She should also ask herself how she would feel if the showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material.”

“This kind of statement is beyond entitled and toxic,” DeKnight concluded. “I love her work, but life’s too short to deal with people like this in the business.”

— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 7, 2023

However, DeKnight later changed his tune as his remarks about Ortega spread.

“My comments were about breaking the trust that we all have on set and during the production process that our creative differences will stay in the family,” DeKnight wrote in response to a tweet calling him out for “s**tting” on Ortega. “It was never about her creative concerns, which were valid. Or about her performance, which was fantastic. I sincerely hope that clears it up.”

— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 15, 2023

In response to a now-hidden tweet, DeKnight continued to massage his remarks and blamed the pending writer’s strike for heightening tensions.

“Again, I can’t stress this enough: She’s an amazing talent,” DeKnight tweeted. “It was just an unfortunate situation to expose creative differences publicly, and also I’ll admit that writers are on edge because of the impending strike, myself included. A perfect storm.”

— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 15, 2023

The producer wrapped up his apology tour by encouraging everyone, including himself, to be better.

“Back to work. Try, as always, to be kind to each other even when we vehemently disagree,” DeKnight said. “And yes, there are times that I need to heed my own advice. We are all emotional works-in-progress. Love to all of you.”

— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 15, 2023