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Jenna Ortega has begged fans to stop mistreating Wednesday plush dolls after a TikTok trend has left department stores exasperated.
The plush dolls, which are dressed as Wednesday in her characteristic dark school uniform and jet black pigtails, gained attention after the latest trailer for the supernatural series was released.
The Addams Family spin-off centres on Wednesday Addams, a deadpan teenage girl with psychic abilities trying to solve a murder mystery.
The show broke records when it debuted in November 2022 and follows Jenna Ortega playing the titular character first brought to life by Lisa Loring in the 1960s series, and later by Christina Ricci in the 1991 feature film.
Users on TikTok have been going into shops and messing around with the plush dolls, by turning out their hair so that the forehead is bare and the character looks bald.
The 23-year-old actor was forced to step in and urged fans to stop the behaviour after a basket of Wednesday plush dolls appeared with egg-shaped heads.
A poster written in capital letters and a very strained tone, read “Do not flip Wednesday’s hair, you will be asked to leave”.
Ortega commented on the video urging, “Please don’t”.
Fans were left amused in the comments, and brands from Fanta to Play-Doh to La Roche Posay joined in on the joke. The skincare company wrote, “The way the dolls look like they were over it too”.
One fan joked, “That’s not Wednesday, that’s Thursday”.
Last month, a new behind-the-scenes Netflix teaser promised the show’s second season will be “bigger and more twisted”.
“If we showed you any more, your eyes would bleed, and I’m not that generous,” says Ortega in the clip as her character teases, “Let’s play dolls”.
Netflix has not confirmed an official release date but the show is expected to be filming in Ireland – a change from its original location in Romania. Deadline reported fans could expect a 2025 release at the earliest.
Speaking about the new series, Ortega told Variety, “We’ve decided we want to lean into the horror aspect of the show a little bit more.
“Because it is so lighthearted, and a show like this with vampires and werewolves and superpowers, you don’t want to take yourself too seriously.”
She added: “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great.”
