‘Wednesday’ Actor Percy Hynes White Responds to ‘Distressing’ Assault Accusations: This Is ‘Harassment’
“Wednesday” actor Percy Hynes White is addressing the #MeToo allegations that circulated on social media earlier this year.
White, age 21, portrayed Nevermore Academy student and Wednesday’s (Jenna Ortega) love interest Xavier Thorpe in the record-breaking Netflix series. A Twitter user anonymously alleged in January 2023 that White assaulted her at a Toronto party he hosted and provided underage girls ages 13 to 14 alcohol and drugs.
“He would pursue, have sex with, abuse and get my friend high who was 13/14 at the time. Last time I knew they had sex she was 16 and he was 20,” the unnamed Twitter user posted in a since-deleted thread. “He assaulted me at one of those parties awhile I was too drunk, and he had cornered and pressured and assaulted multiple of my friends.”
White took to Instagram Stories to clarify his past actions and shut down claims of assault.
“Earlier this year, somebody I’ve never met started a campaign of misinformation about me online. Because of this, my family has been doxxed, and my friends have received death threats,” White shared. “Underage photos of me were used, and examples of me acting in character were presented as hateful. My friend Jane was falsely portrayed as a victim, and her attempts to set the record straight have been ignored. She gave me permission to include her in this message.”
White continued, “The rumors are false. I can’t accept the portrayal of me as someone bigoted, or criminally negligent of people’s safety. These are the kind of baseless, harmful claims that can create mistrust toward victims.”
He added, “It’s very distressing to know that this misinformation has upset people. I’m really thankful for everyone who’s stood by me and helped share the facts. Harassment of my family, friends and coworkers needs to stop please. Thank you for taking the time to read this.”
Following the initial Twitter thread, a campaign to have White removed from “Wednesday” was started. The series is greenlit for a second season.
Lead star Ortega told Variety that the series is pivoting for its second installment. “We’re ditching any romantic love interest for Wednesday, which is really great,” Ortega explained. “We had already been throwing out so many ideas, and I’m somebody who’s very hands on. I want to know what’s going on. And with a character like Wednesday, who is so beloved and such a legend, I just really didn’t want to get her wrong. So I try to have as many conversations as possible. On set, with the writers and Tim [Burton], we all would get together and decide, ‘OK, what works and what doesn’t?’ It was naturally already very collaborative.”