Jenna Ortega exits Scream 7 after firing of Melissa Barrera over Palestine posts
Jenna Ortega is reportedly no longer expected to reprise her role for Scream VII.
The news comes one day after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired from the horror franchise due to comments she made about Israel-Palestine on social media.
According to Deadline, Ortega, 21, has dropped out of the sequel due to scheduling conflicts with the second season of her hit Netflix series, Wednesday in which she plays Wednesday Addams of The Addams Family.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Ortega and Spyglass (the studio behind the film) for comment.
On Tuesday (21 November), a spokesperson confirmed to Variety that Barrera had been fired after her social media posts were interpreted as antisemitic.
“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 told the publication.
In one post on Instagram, Barrera wrote that Gaza was “being treated like a concentration camp”.
Jenna Ortega attends The 2023 Met Gala
(Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
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.
“There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence,” the Thelma and Louise star, 77, reportedly said at one rally.
After just one week of release, Wednesday, which was developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, was streamed for a total of 341.2 million hours, beating a record held by Stranger Things.
In an article about the show’s success, The Independent said that, despite Ortega’s strong lead performance, “it can’t escape certain trappings, namely the fact that it’s essentially Gen-Z Addams Family by way of Riverdale”.
Wednesday season two is expected to be released late 2024.