Jenna Ortega is reportedly no longer slated to reprise her role in Scream VII. This development follows the recent termination of her co-star Melissa Barrera from the horror franchise. Barrera’s dismissal was a result of comments she made on social media regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
As per Deadline, the 21-year-old Ortega has withdrawn from the sequel due to scheduling conflicts arising from the second season of her popular Netflix series, “Wednesday,” where she portrays Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Ortega and Spyglass, the studio producing the film, for further comments.
Variety confirmed on Tuesday (21 November) that Barrera had been fired after her social media posts were perceived as antisemitic. Jenna Ortega is reportedly
“Spyglass maintains an unequivocal stance: We harbor zero tolerance for antisemitism or any form of hate incitement, including the dissemination of false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or any content that blatantly constitutes hate speech,” stated a spokesperson from Spyglass, as reported by the publication.
One of Barrera’s Instagram posts that drew attention featured her comment that Gaza was “being treated like a concentration camp.”
In another, she said: “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.”
The 33-year-old Mexican actor joined the iconic slasher franchise in 2022, leading its fifth and sixth films alongside Ortega.
Representatives for Barrera did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
Scream VII director Christopher Landon responded to the news on Twitter/X, writing: “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Also on Tuesday, Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency UTA for comments she made at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City on 17 November.