Jenna Ortega, 21, breaks her silence on THAT X-rated age gap sex scene with Martin Freeman, 52

  • Many viewers were left extremely 'uncomfortable' with the raunchy sex scene
  • Now, Jenna has addressed the negative comments in a chat with Vanity Fair
  • The actress explained that the film wasn't 'supposed to be comfortable' 

By Lillian Gissen For Dailymail.Com

Published: | Updated:

Jenna Ortega has broken her silence on the fierce backlash that she received over participating in an X-rated age gap sex scene with her Miller's Girl costar Martin Freeman.

When Miller's Girl premiered in January, many viewers were left extremely 'uncomfortable' due to a raunchy scene that showed Martin, 52, and Jenna, 21, getting intimate with one another.

Social media users were in an uproar over it, branding the moment as 'gross' and 'troubling' thanks to their immense age difference. 

Now, Jenna has addressed the negative comments in a new interview with Vanity Fair, and she explained that the film wasn't 'supposed to be comfortable.'

'It's not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It's supposed to be awful at times,' she said.

Jenna Ortega has broken her silence on the fierce backlash that she received over participating in an X-rated age gap sex scene with her Miller's Girl costar Martin Freeman

Jenna Ortega has broken her silence on the fierce backlash that she received over participating in an X-rated age gap sex scene with her Miller's Girl costar Martin Freeman  

When Miller's Girl premiered in January, many viewers were left 'uncomfortable' thanks to a raunchy scene that showed Martin, 52, and Jenna, 21, getting intimate with one another

When Miller's Girl premiered in January, many viewers were left 'uncomfortable' thanks to a raunchy scene that showed Martin, 52, and Jenna, 21, getting intimate with one another 

Now, Jenna has addressed the negative comments in a new interview with Vanity Fair, and she explained that the film wasn't 'supposed to be comfortable'

Now, Jenna has addressed the negative comments in a new interview with Vanity Fair, and she explained that the film wasn't 'supposed to be comfortable' 

'Art isn't always meant to be pleasant or happy, and everyone skips off into the sunset at the end. We all have f**ked-up experiences at one point or another.'

In Miller's Girl, Wednesday star Jenna played 18-year-old student Cairo Sweet, while Martin took on the role of her teacher Jonathan Miller.

The film saw the two get tangled in a very complex and inappropriate relationship, that kicks off when Cairo writes a sex story as part of a creative writing assignment given to her by Jonathan.

Racy scenes from this story are then played out on screen by the duo - which left viewers outraged.

Martin previously defended the controversial scene to The Times, and he said the movie was meant to be 'grown-up and nuanced.'

'It's not saying, "Isn't [an age-gap romance] great,"' he insisted. 

He told the publication that 'stories about difficult subjects' can be 'tainted by association.'

'And that's a shame. Are we gonna have a go at Liam Neeson for being in a film about the Holocaust?' he added, referring to Steven Spielberg's 1992 film Schindler's List, in which Liam played a businessman who joins the Nazi party during World War II.

'It¿s not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It¿s supposed to be awful at times,' she said. 'Art isn¿t always meant to be pleasant or happy.' She's seen in the flick

'It's not supposed to be a comfortable movie. It's supposed to be awful at times,' she said. 'Art isn't always meant to be pleasant or happy.' She's seen in the flick

Martin previously defended the controversial scene to The Times , and he said the movie was meant to be 'grown-up and nuanced.' He's seen third from right with the rest of the cast

Martin previously defended the controversial scene to The Times , and he said the movie was meant to be 'grown-up and nuanced.' He's seen third from right with the rest of the cast

Amid the scrutiny, intimacy coordinator Kristina Arjona revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com that Jenna was totally 'comfortable and sure' about filming the explicit scenes for the movie.

'There were many, many people throughout this process, engaging with [Jenna] to make sure that it was consistent with what she was comfortable with, and she was very determined and very sure of what she wanted to do,' Kristina said. 

'Part of my job too is supporting her decisions. I adapt to whatever is the comfort level of my actors, especially on a production like this where there is a large age gap between the actors.

'I'm hyper aware of both of my talent and making sure that we're consistently checking in and that at no point are any of their boundaries being surpassed.

'And again, making sure - especially with someone who's significantly younger - that they are giving continuous consent.'

Kristina insisted that she had discussed the 'level of nudity' with Jenna and Martin, as well as which 'simulated sex scenes' were required, before talking them through modesty garments and the 'additional barriers' they could use to ensure an 'appropriate distance' was maintained.

'It's not saying, "Isn't [an age-gap romance] great,"' he insisted. Jenna and Martin are seen together in January

'It's not saying, "Isn't [an age-gap romance] great,"' he insisted. Jenna and Martin are seen together in January 

Social media users were in an uproar over the scene after the film came out, branding the moment as 'gross' and 'troubling' thanks to their immense age difference

Social media users were in an uproar over the scene after the film came out, branding the moment as 'gross' and 'troubling' thanks to their immense age difference

This information was also given to the actors in a written format 48 hours before the scenes were filmed, but Kristina stressed that they 'also have the option on the day to change their mind if they don't want to do any of the elements that we've discussed.' 

She revealed there were ample discussions between cast and crew before the scenes were shot and that test audiences were used to give bosses an idea of what was 'too much.'

'For this film, in particular, because of the sensitivity of the content, they had some different variations of how they wanted to shoot these scenes so that audiences could watch them at test screenings to see what was too much,' she added.

Elsewhere in her Vanity Fair interview, Jenna also responded to criticism over comments she made regarding rewrites she made on hit show Wednesday.

Elsewhere in her Vanity Fair interview, Jenna also responded to criticism over comments she made regarding rewrites she made on her hit show Wednesday

Elsewhere in her Vanity Fair interview, Jenna also responded to criticism over comments she made regarding rewrites she made on her hit show Wednesday 

Last year, the actress was scrutinized after she admitted that she changed many of the lines while filming the show because she thought that the original script 'didn't make sense'

Last year, the actress was scrutinized after she admitted that she changed many of the lines while filming the show because she thought that the original script 'didn't make sense' 

'To be fair, I think I probably could have been¿ I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that,' she admitted

'To be fair, I think I probably could have been… I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that,' she admitted 

Last year, the actress was scrutinized after she slammed the creators of the Netflix series and admitted that she changed many of the lines while filming the show because she thought that the original script 'didn't make sense.' 

She was branded as 'entitled' and rude' over her 'unprofessional' behavior on set, and now, she admitted that she regrets her previous comments. 

'I'm aware of my position as an actor. I know that I'm not in charge,' she told Vanity Fair this week.

'But I think with someone like Wednesday, who is in every scene, it only makes sense for that person to be that involved in what's going on behind the scenes because she's onscreen every second of the project.

'To be fair, I think I probably could have been… I probably could have used my words better in describing all of that.

'I think, oftentimes, I'm such a rambler. I think it was hard because I felt like had I represented the situation better, it probably would've been received better.

'Everything that I said felt so magnified…. It felt almost dystopian to me, I felt like a caricature of myself.' 

Jenna OrtegaMartin FreemanNew York Times