Jenna Ortega is no fan of AI.
The 21-year-old actress revealed during a New York Times podcast, “The Interview,” on Saturday that she deleted her Twitter account after receiving explicit AI-generated images of herself when she was a minor.
“I hate AI,” she said. “The truth is, it could be used for amazing things. I think I saw the other day that artificial intelligence can detect breast cancer four years before it progresses. That's amazing. Let's just leave it at that.”
Jenna Ortega attends the “Miss Bala” premiere screening on January 30, 2019. FilmMagic
“Did I, at 14, create a Twitter account because I had to and enjoy looking at salacious edited content of myself as a child? No. It's horrifying. It's corrupting. It's wrong,” she added.
The X logo for what was formerly known as Twitter. AFP via Getty Images
“The first direct message I ever opened was an unsolicited photo of a man's genitals when I was 12,” the Beetlejuice star said, “and that was just the beginning of what was to come.”
Ortega explained that he first created an account on Twitter (now X) because he was told it would help him “build his image.”
Jenna Ortega in Paris on September 26, 2023. WWD via Getty Images
“After the show (Wednesday) came out there was a ton of ridiculous images and pictures floating around and I was already overwhelmed so I ended up deleting them a couple of years ago,” she said.
Ortega called the AI images “nasty,” adding: “It made me sick. It made me uncomfortable. I just couldn't say anything without seeing the stuff, so I took it down.”
“I just woke up one day and thought, 'Oh, I don't need this anymore,'” she added. “So I quit.”
Jenna Ortega attends the premiere of “Finestkind” in December 2023. WireImage Jenna Ortega attends the screening of “Miller's Girl” in Palm Springs. Getty Images, Courtesy of Lionsgate
Ortega has left the Elon Musk-owned social media platform but maintains an Instagram account with more than 38 million followers.
The “Wednesday” star said deleting the Twitter account was part of a “learning process” to protect herself.
Ortega began acting at age 9, and some of his early work includes Iron Man 3, Jane the Virgin, and the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle.
Jenna Ortega attends the Beetlejuice photocall in New York City on August 17, 2024. Getty Images
In an interview with The New York Times, Ortega reflected on his decision to embark on a Hollywood career at a young age.
“I have regrets, and my parents have regrets,” she said. “Looking back, I wouldn't change anything. I don't think I would, because if anything, I'm just so grateful for the lessons I learned from this experience, and I really did learn a lot.”
