Jenna Ortega didn't want to be 'Wednesday'
yes seriously
Hey there!
Let’s get right into today’s good reads, but first, a quick reminder: even Wednesday (Addams) didn’t want Wednesdays to be this big.
📌 Why does Jenna Ortega hate being ‘Wednesday?’
Jenna Ortega might be the face of Netflix’s hit series Wednesday, but in a recent Harper’s Bazaar interview, she admitted she almost didn’t take the role.
Why? She was finally breaking into films and didn’t want the long-term TV commitment. “I kept saying no,” she said, adding that she avoided hearing what Tim Burton had to say “because I knew I’d say yes.”
And say yes, she did. Wednesday became one of Netflix’s most-watched English shows ever, skyrocketing Jenna into a new level of fame.
But the attention came at a cost. “I was an unhappy person,” she confessed, calling the post-show pressure “intense and scary” for someone introverted like her.
The good news? Season 2 is smoother. She’s now a producer, and filming moved from Romania to Dublin, a shift that brought both comfort and creative control.
Still, Jenna’s wrestling with identity.
Playing a schoolgirl while entering adulthood isn’t easy. “I’m doing a show I’ll be doing for years where I play a schoolgirl… but I’m also a young woman,” she explained.
At just 5’1”, she echoes Natalie Portman’s thoughts on how being short and young-looking can feel limiting, even patronizing.
Yet through it all, she loves one thing about Wednesday: “She says what she means. That honesty? It would be amazing in real life.”
📌 Donald Trump gives Putin a deadline to end the war
In classic Trump fashion, the former U.S. President has thrown down the gauntlet, and this time at Vladimir Putin. Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump gave the Russian leader a two-week deadline to prove he’s serious about ending the war in Ukraine.
If not, Trump said, the U.S. will take a “different” approach, though he didn’t say what that meant.
“We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along,” Trump told reporters. “If he is, we’ll respond a little differently.”
Asked if he believes Putin is genuine about peace, Trump replied, “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”
This tough talk comes after a two-hour phone call between the two leaders last week, a call Trump believed would pave the way for a ceasefire. But instead, Russia intensified its assault, capturing three more villages in eastern Ukraine. Trump, visibly frustrated, said Putin has “gone absolutely CRAZY” and is “playing with fire.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin claims it’s working on a draft memorandum for peace, but still hasn’t shared it with Ukraine. Kyiv sees this as a stalling tactic. “They’re afraid to reveal their unrealistic ultimatums,” a Ukrainian foreign ministry official said.
📌 Sydney Sweeney will now sell her used bathwater
The internet has never been normal about Sydney Sweeney, and honestly, she knows it. From bizarre commentary on her SNL outfit to wild reactions over a sunbathing pic, Sweeney’s online presence often turns into a feeding frenzy, especially from her male fanbase.
But instead of retreating, she’s flipping the script.
Case in point: her recent collab with Dr. Squatch, a men’s personal care brand. The viral ad featured Sweeney soaking in a bathtub, teasing “dirty little boys,” and the internet did exactly what you’d expect: begged for her bathwater.
At first, she was baffled by the thirst, but then leaned in.
The result? A bar of soap made with pine bark, mossy notes, and actual droplets of her bathwater. Yes, really.
She’s not just cashing in on the chaos, she’s consciously engaging with it. “It’s a cool way to have a conversation with the audience,” she told GQ, while also promoting self-care (and cleaner dude bathrooms).
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Sweeney is more about hiking and treehouse-building than scrolling Instagram. That grounding, plus friends outside the Hollywood bubble, keeps her level-headed amid the noise.
While the product itself is part-joke, part-ingenious marketing, it’s also her way of reclaiming control over her image and turning internet obsession into something tangible (and pine-scented). And no, she wasn’t inspired by Erykah Badu’s infamous incense, but she wishes she was.
As Sweeney put it: “Why do people want my bathwater? Um, because women are awesome?”
Fair enough.
That’s it for today. If you found this edition interesting and entertaining, please drop a like and follow us for more!
See ya👋
