UPDATE 6:12 P.M. PST: The director of the film, Christopher Landon, has responded to the news in a since deleted tweet:
“This is my statement: [broken heart emoji] Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make”
Spyglass, whose decision it was, has also released a statement, saying:
“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.”
We’ll keep you updated if more speak out.
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Wow, some serious battle lines are being drawn in Hollywood right now over the Israel-Hamas war. And consequences have transcended the barrier from real-world horror into the fake fun kind of horror.
On Tuesday The Hollywood Reporter dropped the shocking news that Melissa Barrera has been FIRED from Scream 7!
Melissa took the lead in 2022’s reboot Scream and this year’s Scream 6 — both HUGE box office hits for Spyglass and Paramount. And now she’s out on her ass!
Related: Amber Heard GONE From Aquaman 2 Trailer After Jason Momoa Feud Rumors!
THR says the surprise twist of the knife comes after the 33-year-old posted negatively on social media about how the Israeli government is handling Gaza. In one Instagram Story post the outlet pointed out, she wrote:
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp… Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water… People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Like many young people getting death threats and other consequences, Melissa has been urging a ceasefire — something that seems pretty objectively reasonable. But any wavering in approval of the Israeli government has been treated by some as antisemitism, a really scary precedent, even for folks who faced Ghostface twice.
Spyglass has yet to comment. We’re mostly curious to see how her co-stars react. Will Jenna Ortega be OK with her protective big sis being canned?
Obviously the franchise in general seems comfortable with pivoting, having rewritten Scream 6 to be the first film without Sidney Campbell after Neve Campbell walked over what she felt was a lowball salary. But she already had such a smaller part in these new movies. Sam was the LEAD! That’s wild. All over a push for a ceasefire.
What do YOU think of this move, scary movie fans??
[Image via Paramount/YouTube/Melissa Barrera/Instagram.]