Jenna Ortega Leaves 'Scream VII' Following Melissa Barrera's Firing Due to Antisemitic Posts on Social Media

Jenna Ortega left 'Scream VII' after Melissa Barrera's firing due to her antisemitic posts on social media about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The news was reported by Deadline after yesterday's announcement that Barrera would no longer play a role in 'Scream VII.'

Ortega Leaves' Scream VII'

(Photo : Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 01: Jenna Ortega attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.

Spyglass media noted that Ortega's exit from 'Scream VII' had nothing to do with Barrera's firing. The press said that Ortega leaving the franchise had already been discussed before the firing.

Ortega's exit was still logical for the franchise as they admitted that the script was still in progress and was not ready yet. Losing the two main leads puts the franchise's future on the brink as the 'Scream' franchise, with a seventh sequel, stands to hit the $1 billion global mark at the box office.

However, the press confirmed that she left 'Scream VII' as the Primetime Emmy nominee will fly to Ireland in April to shoot the second season of Netflix's 'Wednesday,' which will stream in the summer. The timing of the news was said to be very interesting, yet suspicious.

Ortega received a Comedy Series Actress Primetime Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe Comedy TV Actress nomination for her role on 'Wednesday.'

The 'Scream' franchise started with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett in 2022 and has continued with 'Scream VI' from the same directing team this year. In 'Scream VI,' Ortega and Barrera played sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter, tormented by a new generation of Ghostface killers.

Following the success of the reboot of the franchise, the franchise announced the showing of 'Scream VII' in August with 'Freaky' director Christopher Landon as one of the people in charge of the film.

Melissa Barrera's Firing

Spyglass media recently fired Barrera after posting multiple hate speeches on her social media amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Spyglass issued a statement in response to Barrera's firing and said, "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."

Landon also posted on X, formerly Twitter, that everything was a mess, so please stop yelling at me, as this was not a decision he had to make.

Spyglass did not return requests for comment about Landon's post about Barrera's firing.

Spyglass proceeds to change plans due to Barrera's firing, but for now, the next steps for Spyglass remain unclear.

Furthermore, Landon takes over directing 'Scream VII' from filmmaker Radio Silence.

Barrera starred in 'Scream VI' as the older sister of Jenna Ortega, which was released in March and topped $168.9 million at the global box office. The 'Scream VI' in 2022 earned $137.7 million globally.