Warning: Discussion of alleged sexual assault.
Jenna Ortega gave a quick comment on Percy Hynes White’s departure from Wednesday.
Percy played Xavier Thorpe in the first season of the hit Netflix show, forming part of a love triangle with Jenna’s titular character. In January 2023, an X user claimed that Percy assaulted her at a party and that he had allegedly assaulted other women and thrown parties with the intent of giving underage women alcohol. Similar stories then reportedly emerged from other users.
Six months later, Percy denied the “campaign of misinformation.” He continued, “The rumors are false. I can’t accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people’s safety. These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims.”
In May of this year, Percy confirmed that he had exited the series, writing on Instagram, “I had so much fun working on this show. I can’t wait to watch season 2 🙂 Much love.”
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Jenna called his departure “a weird redirect, but we’re introducing so many different characters that I think it kind of will get lost.”
She further said that the “world does feel slightly askew anyway” in the show.
You can read the full interview here.