Netflix’s series Wednesday is full of twists and red herrings during its first season, but the show’s mysteries weren’t just relegated to on-screen drama.
Inspired by the Charles Addams comic of America’s First Goth family, Wednesday follows the titular character, played by Jenna Ortega, as she attends a spooky private school called Nevermore. In a school full of outcasts, Wednesday Addams tries to remain a maverick, which is easier said than done — especially regarding her love life.
While the series has many enjoyable aspects, throwing Wednesday in the middle of a love triangle was one of the more confounding. By the looks of it, however, said love triangle will not be continuing in the show’s sophomore season, as Percy Hynes White ⏤ the actor who played Wednesday’s schoolmate Xavier ⏤ has been officially dropped from the cast following a disturbing controversy.
What were the claims against Percy Hynes White?
In 2023, Variety reported that an anonymous Twitter user had claimed White assaulted them at a house party. They alleged that White and his friends would ply minors with alcohol to assault them. The outlet did not reveal the alleged victim’s identity, but posted their claims at length.
“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. 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.”
The tweet has since been deleted, but consequences soon followed. Others supported these claims and contributed additional corroborative stories. At the time, no further action was taken, but White maintained his innocence.
White’s response to the allegations
White later took to Instagram and denied the poster’s claims. He explained that he had never met this person and that his friends and family had been targeted due to these allegations. The Gifted actor further described how he was affected following the events.
“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. 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. 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.”
At the time this news broke, Wednesday season 2 had yet to go into production. However, there were rumblings that White would not reprise his role as Xavier in the upcoming season as a result of the claims made against him. At the time, there had been no confirmation of official action taken, but fan outcry made the ultimate result somewhat inevitable. With such public allegations of such a brutal nature, White quickly lost stock as a romantic interest for Wednesday’s character.
As of May 2024, Variety confirmed that White won’t be returning for season 2 when it released a full cast announcement. 12 additional cast members have joined season 2, with White conspicuously being left off the list. Other cast members to be added to the official list are Steve Buscemi, Thandiwe Newton, Christopher Lloyd, and Haley Joel Osment.
There is no current news about what season 2 has in store for the multitude of Wednesday fans out there, but it’s fair to surmise that the storyline of the upcoming show will boast an ambitious overhaul. Viewers will be able to see these events when Wednesday airs season 2 on Netflix.
