One year after gossip started circulating about her allegedly dating Johnny Depp, Jenna Ortega broke her silence about the rumors.
During an interview with Buzzfeed, the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star was asked what was the “craziest rumor” she’s heard about herself. She quickly stated, “Probably that I was in a serious relationship with Johnny Depp and I wanted everybody to leave us alone. It’s so insane to me. I never said anything like that.”
Jenna Ortega stated she thought the Johnny Depp rumor was hilarious. “I was on set with Richard E. Grant and he came up to me and he said, ‘Oh, so you and Johnny …’ and I laughed because I don’t know that person.”
Celebrity gossip Instagram account DeuxMoi first reported last summer that Depp and Ortega were romantically linked. However, the Edward Scissorhands star’s rep denied the gossip.
“Mr. Depp has no personal or professional relationship with Miss Ortega whatsoever. He has never met her or spoken to her,” the rep stated to NME in August 2023. “He is not involved in any project with her, nor does he intend to be. [Depp] is appalled by these baseless and malicious rumors that are intended to harm his reputation and career.”
The only noticeable link between Johnny Depp and Jenna Ortega is their collaboration with famed filmmaker Tim Burton. Burton recently directed Ortega in the Beetlejuice sequel. He is also the executive producer of Ortega’s hit Netflix series Wednesday.
Burton previously worked with Depp on hit films such as Sleepy Hallow, Corpse Bride, and Charle and the Chocolate Factory.
Jenna Ortega Also Recalled First Finding Out About the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel
Meanwhile, Jenna Ortega opened up about how Tim Burton approached her about the Beetlejuice sequel role.
“Initially, I found out about Beetlejuice a couple days after Wednesday premiered,” Jenna said. “And Tim told me that he wanted to talk about Season 2 of Wednesday. I went with all these ideas and notes of where the show could go and he just plopped the Beetlejuice script in front of me.”
Ortega then recalled first meeting Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton. “I have been such a fan of Michael Keaton for such a long time. I think actually seeing him in person I went inside myself because I weirdly got shy. He’s so sweet, he’s so funny, he’s so charming, he’s so professional. I feel like I learned so much even by watching him.”
She then added, “It was really strange to see him as Beetlejuice because he was unrecognizable. It was the first time I think I’d ever really seen someone completely disappear.”