Jenna Ortega Reveals She Was Sent Explicit AI Images of Herself as a Teen on Social Media: ‘It’s Terrifying’

Jenna Ortega is sharing her experiences of the darker side of the internet.

The Wednesday star, 21, opened up about her feelings on AI and social media on the latest episode of The Interview podcast with The New York Times, released on Aug. 24. There, she stressed the negative impact that she’s seen with those tools as an actress. 

“I hate AI,” Ortega said on the podcast. “... Did I like being 14 [years old] 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. It's disgusting,” she added. “... Here's the problem, though. We've opened Pandora's box. Well, it is what it is. It's out there now. We're gonna have to deal with the consequences.”

X (formerly Twitter) did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. (Platforms like X and others say they take steps to prevent the spread of abusive content.)

However, the actress did concede that AI could also be used for “incredible things” as well, like to “detect breast cancer” before its progression.

“That's beautiful … Let's keep it to that," she said, adding, "I would like [AI] to be used with good intent, but we could say that about anything and everything."

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On the same podcast, the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress went on to say that she decided to delete X due to people sending her explicit images of themselves. 

“One of the first actually, the first DM that I ever opened myself when I was 12 was an unsolicited photo of a man's genitals, and that was just the beginning of what was to come,” Ortega said. 

“I ended up deleting about two, three years ago because the influx, after [Wednesday] had come out, of these absurd images and photos," she continued. “They're just so repulsive, and I already was in a confused state that I just deleted it because it was unnecessary, and I didn't need that.”

Ortega said that people told her that she needed to keep the account to “build” her “image,” but the explicit images helped solidify her decision to delete X.

“I would make political statements or, just personal ones or just talk about excitement for jobs, and then I was greeted with this stuff. And it was just disgusting, and it made me feel bad. It made me feel uncomfortable,” she said.

“It's awful. ... So one day, I just woke up and I thought, 'Oh, I don't need this anymore.' So I dropped it,” she added. 

When asked on the podcast if she was still “learning to “protect herself,” Ortega agreed, saying, “I’m still learning.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to be released in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024.