Update: Studio and director comments on why Melissa Barrera fired from Scream 7

Last Updated on February 5, 2024

Update: Spyglass Media had initially declined to comment on the story when it broke, but they have since made a statement to Variety concerning why Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7. “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass spokesperson said. In a statement on X, Scream 7 director Christopher Landon added, “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.“

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In a shocking move, it appears that Melissa Barrera has been fired from Scream 7 following a few controversial social media posts. Melissa Barrera starred in the last two Scream movies as Sam Carpenter, the illegitimate daughter of original Scream killer Billy Loomis.

The news appeared in Variety’s November 21st print issue, with the report stating that Melissa Barrera had “quietly” exited Scream 7. The actress had made a number of pro-Palestinian posts on social media, but it was reportedly a reference to “an antisemitic trope that Jews control the media,” which caused Spyglass Media to part ways.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett resurrected the Scream franchise with two very successful installments, but they won’t be back for Ghostface’s next massacre. It was confirmed this summer that Christopher Landon, best known for Happy Death Day, Freaky, and We Have a Ghost, had signed on to direct Scream 7. “Just a big, heart-felt thanks to all the #scream fans for welcoming me into the fold,” Landon wrote on social media after the announcement. “Horror has been my passion all my life. I promise to do Wes,Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin proud. And of course, a massive shout out to my friend and hero Kevin Williamson. Let’s go!!!!“

Melissa Barrera had previously said that she would like to further explore her character’s mental health in the sequel. “There are so many places that [Sam] could go,” Barrera said. “That’s one of the reasons that, when I read the script for Scream 5, I was so interested in the character. There’s so much potential here of where she could go with her mental health – she’s just unpredictable. I find that that darkness in her makes her that much more interesting to play and to watch. She’s the hero but she’s also kind of the villain. It’s this contradiction in her that I find fascinating and, if we get to do another one, I would love to see. The writers have done a really good job with her up until this point, so I trust them just to know where to take her [in a way] that will be unexpected and cool for the fans.“

Development on Scream 7 has naturally been slow due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but now that they’ve both concluded, it was expected that the project would get back on track. However, with the news that Melissa Barrera has been fired as the lead of Scream 7, Spyglass will likely need to recalibrate its plans, but I can’t imagine that fans will be happy.