Melissa Barrera spoke candidly about the cast of "Scream 7" in an interview with Variety. The 35-year-old actress, who was fired from the horror sequel due to her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war, expressed her disapproval towards the other actors who continued to star in the film.
When asked if she thought it was "scabby" for them to appear in "Scream 7" after her removal, Barrera replied, "Oh, one hundred percent. I think they all are. And they have to live with that." The term "scabbing," in this context, refers to crossing a picket line during a labor dispute.
Barrera further added, "The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible." When the interviewer commented that "Scream 7" "sucked," Barrera agreed, saying, "I know."
Barrera played Sam Carpenter, the lead character in the 2022 slasher revival "Scream" and its sequel, "Scream VI." She was expected to return for "Scream 7," but in 2023, she was fired from the movie for her social media posts supporting Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war. Among other statements, Barrera had posted that Gaza was "being treated like a concentration camp" and added that "THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."
Spyglass stated at the time that it has "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."
"Scream 7" underwent numerous behind-the-scenes changes after Barrera's firing, and the script was reworked to focus on Neve Campbell's original lead character, Sidney Prescott. Sidney had been absent from the previous movie, "Scream VI," after Campbell declined to return due to a salary dispute.
Jenna Ortega, who played the sister of Barrera's character in "Scream" and "Scream VI," did not return for "Scream 7," later telling The Cut that she left because "the Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart." However, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding did reprise their roles as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Chad Meeks-Martin in "Scream 7." Their characters were close friends of Barrera's Sam in the previous two "Scream" movies. No explanation was given for Sam's absence in "Scream 7."
Despite all the controversy and receiving the worst reviews of the series, "Scream 7" was a box office success. It grossed more than $200 million globally, making it the highest-grossing "Scream" movie to date. Since her firing, Barrera has starred in the Peacock series "The Copenhagen Test" and is currently performing on Broadway in the musical comedy "Titanique."
