Actor fired from new Scream over social media posts slams actors who 'crossed picket line' to make sequel
The most recent Scream sequel, Scream 7, was hit with major controversy after it fired its lead actor – forcing rewrites which were estimated to cost a whopping $500,000.
Melissa Barrera, who previously starred in Scream V and Scream VI, was fired from her role in the sequel after making posts in November of 2023 calling out the genocide in Gaza and accusing the Israeli state of ‘genocide and ethnic cleansing’.
Now, Barrera has given her first extended interview with since the film’s release and she has hit out at the actors who ended up appearing in the movie after she was fired.
The actor was 'cancelled' after her firing, with Barrera saying that she received no offers for an extended period afterwards until she was offered a role in Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters.
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Despite her career being back on track however she did not have positive words to say about the actors who appeared in the film alongside her. Jenna Ortega pulled out of filming and the pair of leads were replaced by a returning Neve Campbell.
Speaking to Variety Barrera was asked whether the actors who returned for the film after she was fired seemed ‘scabby’ or whether it felt like they ‘crossed a picket line’.
Barrera did not hold back in her response, saying: “Oh, one hundred percent. I think they all are. And they have to live with that.
“The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible.”
When Ortega pulled out of the seventh film shortly after Barrera was fired the public line from the production studio was that this was due to scheduling conflicts.
Despite this, rumours persisted that she had quit in solidarity with the actor, with Ortega eventually saying in an interview with The Cut: “It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart… If Scream 7 wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
In a previous interview Barrera said she has a good relationship with Ortega who has been ‘so supportive’, adding that they were ‘sisters for life’.
In the new interview with Variety however, the interviewer asked: “Did anyone reach out to support you during that time? At least Jenna Ortega dropped out of Scream.”
Barrera however shook her head and said: “That’s not the reality of things… I got some messages of support from people in the industry, but what I found is that private messages with no action mean nothing.”
Whilst she doesn’t name drop Ortega she goes on to add: “I had faith. I was like, ‘Someone is going to reach out to me and help me. It’s just a matter of time.’”
Topics: Jenna Ortega, TV and Film, Celebrity, Film, Palestine
Michael Slavin