Jenna Ortega Shuts Down ‘Insane’ Johnny Depp Dating Rumors

Jenna Ortega is clearing things up as rumors circulated that she dated Johnny Depp.

The Wednesday star, 21, shut down the “insane” rumor that she was ever in a relationship with Depp, 61, during her “Puppy Interview” with BuzzFeed on Monday.

In the interview, she was asked what the craziest rumor about her was, to which she responded, “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. Like, I never spoke on that. I never said anything like that. Articles really do just make up their own quotes, but I thought that that was pretty hilarious,” Ortega remarked.

“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,” she added.

The actor who starred in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle was linked to the Pirates of the Caribbean star by the gossip blog Deuxmoi in August 2023. However, Depp’s representative denied the rumor.

“Mr. Depp has no personal or professional relationship with Miss Ortega whatsoever. He has never met her or spoken to her,” Depp’s rep told NME in August 2023. “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.”

Ortega also dismissed the rumors at the time on Instagram, writing, “This is so ridiculous I can’t even laugh. I have never met or worked with Johnny Depp in my life. Please stop spreading lies and leave us alone.”

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star has been private about her love life, telling Elle last year that she is happily single and that “the idea of relationships stresses” her out.

Depp, meanwhile, following his Virginia defamation trial against Amber Heard, is reported to be “casually” dating Russian model Yulia Vlasova, 28.

Although a source told PEOPLE in July that the actor isn’t exploring any romantic avenues at the moment since he is “really too busy,” so there’s “not time right now for that.”

“He’s focused on moving forward. He’s keeping busy. There’s a lot of good distractions, so there’s not that much time to be reminiscing on that darker period,” the insider added. “There’s been a release of the old and embarking on this new chapter. He’s feeling better about where he is in life.”