The Scream franchise has lost its other Carpenter sister. One day after production studio Spyglass fired lead actress Melissa Barrera for what they deemed to be “hate speech,” news broke that Jenna Ortega will also be exiting the franchise ahead of the upcoming Scream VII. Ortega and Barrera played sisters Tara and Sam respectively in the $169 million grossing film (per Box Office Mojo).
Ortega’s exit, however, has reportedly been in the works for months. According to Deadline, the actor discussed being let out of her contract before the actors strike even began, citing scheduling conflicts with season two of Netflix’s Wednesday. The Ortega-led series is looking to start production in Ireland this upcoming April and will continue throughout the summer. Per Deadline, Beetlejuice 2—in which Ortega stars—also has a few days of shooting left, which is yet another project on the actor’s plate.
Yesterday, it was reported that Spyglass fired Ortega’s co-star Melissa Barrera after the actor posted on social media about the Israel-Palestine conflict. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barrera’s Instagram stories included one that said, “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” and another reading, “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.”
In response, the studio issued the following statement:
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.
Scream VII director Christopher Landon also weighed in on yesterday’s events. In a now-deleted Tweet, he wrote: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” It’s unclear where all of this leaves the film, but THR reports that the studio is “expected to recalibrate plans” for the Scream franchise moving forward.