“I’m glad young people are exercising their boundaries, and also encouraging their older co-stars to do the same.”
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the highly anticipated sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 movie Beetlejuice, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, and the cast have been tirelessly working the promo circuit in the lead-up to its release.
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For reference, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton have all reprised their roles from the original movie for the sequel, and rising star Jenna Ortega also joined the cast.
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Beetlejuice is widely regarded to be Winona’s breakout role, with the actor just 15 years old during filming and 16 when the movie was released, catapulting her to global fame.
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And fans believe that a brief-but-poignant clip on a recent red carpet has highlighted the huge generational difference between established stars that first found fame in the '80s and '90s, like Winona, compared to Gen Z newcomers who are on their ascent to stardom.
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In the video, 52-year-old Winona can be seen posing for photographers with her 21-year-old costar Jenna, with the photographers audibly shouting at Winona to remove her sunglasses.
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Winona appears to hesitate as she goes to reluctantly take off the shades, but Jenna steps in.
Perhaps picking up on her costar’s hesitation, Jenna seemingly tells Winona: “No, you don’t have to,” with her words appearing to reassure Winona, who then defiantly keeps her sunglasses on.
As brief as this exchange was, it has struck a chord with viewers — with many taking to social media to point out that the moment appears to represent Gen Z’s healthy approach to establishing and maintaining boundaries.
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This is a huge change to the culture that surrounded young stars when Winona first found fame, with it being well-documented that newcomers, particularly young women, were encouraged to be nothing but amenable and accommodating.
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Quote-tweeting the red carpet clip, which has been viewed more than 4 million times, one viral tweet reads: “There’s something very comforting about the younger generation encouraging the older generation (who were raised to please & say yes) to maintain their boundaries no matter what.”
“Jenna telling Winona to ignore the photographer’s request to take off her sunglasses is some queen sh*t,” somebody else agreed.
The topic was also widely discussed on a Reddit forum, where many heaped praise on Jenna for the way that she subtly supported her elder.
“This melted my heart!” one person wrote. “A lot of women have to work hard to stop trying to please people out of fear as being called ‘difficult.’ It’s lovely to see a young woman support and understand what another woman is going through.”
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“Comforting her and reassuring her that she does not owe the paps anything is such a beautiful exchange between a newer and older generation,” somebody else agreed. “I’m glad young people are exercising their boundaries, and also encouraging their older co-stars to do the same.”
“It’s so cool to see the exchange between generations. These younger artists are more aware of boundaries and didn't grow up with abusive paparazzi culture, and I'm sure Jenna learned some cool stuff from Winona too,” one more echoed.
Another user wrote: “She is right, you don't have to. Winona is conditioned from years of pap interactions. Jenna is a different generation who stand up for themselves.”
And when somebody else commented: “It's kind of crazy to me that Jenna Ortega is able to have that confidence at her young age and is telling Ryder when Ryder has been in the spotlight since before Ortega was born,” another user pointed out: “But it’s also generational— Gen X’ers didn’t grow up learning boundaries and limits like GenZ.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for comparisons to be drawn between this situation and singer Chappell Roan’s recent comments, too.
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In recent weeks, 26-year-old Chappell has issued two different statements to set boundaries with fans, where she explained: “I don't want whatever the f*ck you think you're supposed to be entitled to whenever you see a celebrity. I don't give a f*ck if you think it's selfish of me to say no to a photo, or your time, or for a hug.”
“Obsessed with this energy from younger stars like Chappell and Jenna. Yes! It's normal to have boundaries! You're not obligated to be available to people when you are outside your capacity as an entertainer!” one person commented.
“Between this and Chappell Roan's post last week. It gives me hope for these new generation of artists and actors,” another wrote.
Somebody else concluded: “Chappell Roans recent Insta post about refusing to engage with people who demand her space/time had me thinking i wonder how many older celebrities are thinking ‘oh damn, we’re allowed to say to that!?’ and this is further evidence of the younger generation understanding their inherent right for agency.”
- Jenna Ortega
- Winona Ryder
- Beetlejuice
- Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeed Staff
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