Jenna Ortega Recalls 'Insane' Rumor She 'Was in a Serious Relationship With Johnny Depp': 'I Don't Know That Person'
Jenna Ortega, 21, is definitely not dating Johnny Depp, 61, nor did she ever in the past.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress, who is set to star in the Tim Burton-directed film next month alongside Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, recently responded to rumors from last summer claiming she was involved in a romance with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor — who is 40 years older than her.
In a new interview published Monday, August 26, Ortega was asked about the "craziest rumor" she's ever heard about herself throughout her time in the spotlight, to which she stated: "Probably that I was in a serious relationship with Johnny Depp and I wanted everybody to leave us alone. It’s so insane to me. I never said anything like that."
"I thought that that was pretty hilarious. I was on set with Richard E. Grant and he came up to me and he said, ‘Oh, so you and Johnny…’ and I laughed because I don’t know that person," the Wednesday star recalled of filming her upcoming movie Death of a Unicorn with the Can You Ever Forgive Me? actor.
Depp also previously addressed said rumors he was dating Ortega, as his rep squashed speculation at the time it began, insisting in an August 2023 statement to NME: "Mr. Depp has no personal or professional relationship with Miss Ortega whatsoever. He has never met her or spoken to her."
"He is not involved in any project with her, nor does he intend to be. He is appalled by these baseless and malicious rumors that are intended to harm his reputation and career," the message — which was a result of rumors spread by celebrity gossip site DeuxMoi claiming the two were an item — concluded.
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Ortega, who is believed to be single at the moment, recently opened up about how she never wants to share her future relationships with fans.
"I don’t plan on speaking about my love life publicly, because that’s mine," she said in a Vanity Fair cover story published earlier this month. "When you know too much about someone’s personal life, then you watch films and you can only see them [who they are off-screen rather than the character they’re playing]. There’s nothing worse."
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Meanwhile, Depp is reportedly dating Russian model Yulia Vlasova, 28, whom he met months before his infamous trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.
Vlasova is only seven years older than Ortega and 33 years younger than the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star.
BuzzFeed conducted a video interview with Ortega ahead of her upcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.