Netflix recently revealed the cast of Wednesday season 2, which is set to feature the likes of Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Luis Guzman, among others, but there’s one cast member who’s drawn a lot of questions.
Content warning: This article contains references to sexual assault.
There are two notable omissions from the second season of the black comedy mystery series, as it has been reported that Percy Hynes White and Naomi J. Ogawa won’t be returning to season 2. Hynes White portrayed the character of Xavier Thorpe, a student at the Nevermore Academy who has the ability to make his art come to life. His character has been written out of the show.
Hynes White’s unavailability has been attributed to the sexual misconduct allegations that were raised against him last year. A series of tweets were directed towards the 22-year-old in January 2023, making allegations that he categorically denied in June of the same year, calling it a “campaign of misinformation” and saying that a friend of his had been falsely identified as a victim. There has been little new information since then.
The Twitter user who came forward with the allegations claimed that Hynes White had sexually assaulted her at a party while she was drunk, also mentioning that the actor had sexually assaulted other women and invited minors to parties, providing them with alcohol and drugs to initiate sex while they were under the influence. After the tweet went viral, multiple women came forward and showed solidarity with Twitter user @milkievich, while there were some who also shared allegations of sexual assault by the Canadian actor.
Another factor in Hynes White’s character getting dropped from the show could be the creative direction that the series might take in season 2, as Jenna Ortega had hinted that Wednesday would tap more into “horror elements” and ditch the romantic sub-plot. Xavier Thorpe was a potential love interest of Ortega’s character, with the possibility of a love triangle brewing involving the two.
It remains to be seen what will come of the allegations against Hynes White, though he’s still set to play the leading man in the upcoming romantic drama film Winter Summer Spring or Fall, opposite Wednesday’s own Jenna Ortega.
