Production for Wednesday Season 2 finally started in Ireland in May, and Netflix released a cast announcement video to reveal the returning and new cast members. Evidently, the list doesn’t include Percy Hynes White, who played Xavier Trope and one-third of the titular character’s onscreen love triangle. The actor was reportedly dropped from the show following the sexual assault allegations made against him in January 2023. So, as he’s no longer part of the second season, lead star Jenna Ortega calls White’s exit a “weird redirect.”
In a cover story for Vanity Fair’s September 2024 issue, Ortega discussed everything related to Wednesday Season 2 and her upcoming Beetlejuice sequel. Among the many things the 21-year-old star talked about was losing White from the series. So, as she gave her thoughts about the actor’s alleged firing, she found it to be a move to change the show’s direction and introduce a lot of new characters.
“[Losing Hynes White has been] a weird redirect, but we’re introducing so many different characters that I think it kind of will get lost,” she said. “[Wednesday’s] world does feel slightly askew anyway.”
True enough, Netflix has added numerous new cast members in Wednesday Season 2, like the original Addams Family star Christopher Lloyd, who used to play Uncle Fester. The cast also includes Steve Buscemi, Billie Piper, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, Noah Taylor, Joanna Lumley, Thandiwe Newton, Frances O’Connor, Haley Joel Osment, Heather Matarazzo, and the Star Wars: The Acolyte star Joonas Suotamo.
Was Percy Hynes White fired from Wednesday Season 2?
Though Netflix didn’t formally announce it fired White from Wednesday Season 2, news emerged that he was dropped following allegations of sexual misconduct made against him on social media. In a now-deleted tweet, a woman accused the Canadian actor of assaulting her at a party in Toronto, and he and his friends would usually throw parties and provide alcohol and drugs to underage girls they wanted to sleep with.
The accuser also alleged that White would pursue, sleep with, abuse, and get a woman high despite being only 13 or 14 years old. The unknown woman claimed she was only 16 when they allegedly slept together, and he was already 20. From there, similar allegations emerged on social media. White has since denied the claims and called the accusations against him a “campaign of misinformation” in a post on his Instagram story.
This series of accusations led to an online campaign to remove White from Wednesday Season 2, which eventually happened as he was dropped from the main cast. In September 2023, industry insiders told the Daily Mail that the 22-year-old star was “written out” from the series. Though it wasn’t confirmed yet at the time, a source close to the White family claimed it was true.
As of this writing, Netflix has yet to address White’s exit from Wednesday Season 2. The actor himself also remains mum about it. However, by the looks of it, the streamer has made up for it by adding several new cast members.
Wednesday Season 1 is available on Netflix, while Season 2 has no release date yet.
