“I don’t know why they paired us up together,” Aubrey Plaza stated in her signature deadpan style on stage next to Jenna Ortega. The two were paired up to present the award for Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series at the 29th Screen Actors Guild awards on February 26th. Ortega’s quick (and equally deadpan) response, “I know we have nothing in common” proved that she has the comedic timing to keep up with THE April Ludgate (Plaza’s famously emotionless character from Parks & Rec).
Both Plaza and Ortega have been crushing it lately. With Plaza stealing scenes in HBO’s The White Lotus and Ortega becoming an icon to young goth girls with her role as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday. Both actresses were also nominees for the evening, with The White Lotus being nominated (and winning!) for best drama series ensemble cast, and Ortega being nominated for female actor in a comedy series for Wednesday. Unfortunately, Ortega lost to Jean Smart for her role in the HBO Max series Hacks.
Even though it was a high-stakes night for the actresses, they were sure not to take themselves too seriously as they continued their bit. “We need to find the people who did this,” said Plaza. “...and curse their families,” continued Ortega. The two then joined as they declared in unison, “...and watch as misfortune follows their bloodline for the next seven generations.” After a quick pause, Plaza continued with, “Okay I see it now.” The audience’s thundering laughter seemed to imply they also were obsessed with the duo’s bit.
Fan reactions on Twitter proved that we weren’t the only ones excited about this, with one fan tweeting, “whoever came up with pairing aubrey plaza and jenna ortega together i wanna kiss your forehead,” and another writing “Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega doing a bit together? An incredible day for disaffected, witchy Latinas everywhere.”
whoever came up with pairing aubrey plaza and jenna ortega together i wanna kiss your forehead pic.twitter.com/xkLcaAeXZP
— yara. (@gaedisaster) February 27, 2023ADVERTISEMENT
Aubrey Plaza and Jenna Ortega doing a bit together? an incredible day for disaffected, witchy Latinas everywhere.
— Cat Cardenas (@catrcardenas) February 27, 2023
pic.twitter.com/MKn8XCNa85
Hopefully this fun crossover means we’ll see Plaza and Ortega in more projects together in the future. When asked about starring in a film with Jenna Ortega, Plaza stated, “I’m down. We’ll just kill everybody with our eyes.” I’m envisioning a weird, slightly off-putting (in a good way) remake of Thelma & Louise.
Top Photo: Screen grab from “Jenna Ortega & Aubrey Plaza Make Everyone Laugh While Presenting At SAG Awards” from Access Hollywood on YouTube.
Emily Lauletta is pursuing her MA in applied gender studies at Claremont Graduate University. She enjoys reading feminist theory and collecting records. Follow her on Instagram @emilylaul
