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Actor Matthew Lillard has said he feels embarrassed about returning to the Scream franchise for Scream 7 following Melissa Barreras firing from the slasher series, saying the actor was on the right side of history when she expressed support for Palestinians in 2023, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
During a recent Q&A, in a video posted on TikTok, Lillard said Barrera, who was dropped from the seventh installment in November 2023, was fired for speaking out and said he felt he should have spoken up at the time. Its just human, its like who we are I dont know what else to do, Lillard said. For me I have queer kids; if Im not standing up for queer kids or kids in the trans community, what the fuck am I doing?, as per the outlet. The Five Nights at Freddys star continued, Listen, I dont think its easy all the time. Melissa Barrera, whos a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said. Thats really fucking bullshit and really hard, and shes on the right side of history. And when they start coming after your job, sometimes things are worth it, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But Im just gonna say, what happened to Melissa, the whole world didnt pipe up, he added. She was like a year early on what the fucks going on, but the whole world should have piped up and said, Shes right, and they didnt. And thats brutal. Lillard said he was subsequently called out for reprising his role as Stu Macher in Scream 7, which was released in February. He had previously played the character in the original 1996 Scream and 1997s Scream 2. Im like, ..thats brutal. I feel bad about that, I feel shame about that, Lillard said. Because in that moment, I was so excited to go back, I didnt really think about Melissa and the journey, and I didnt say no. And Im embarrassed, and thats the truth. Barrera was dropped from Scream 7 in November 2023 after she spoke out in support of Palestine on social media amid the Israel-Hamas war. Spyglass Media Group, the company behind the Scream franchise, said in a statement following her firing, 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. Following Barreras departure, Jenna Ortega also exited Scream 7, while director Christopher Landon left the project. Neve Campbell was later brought back to reprise her role as Sidney Campbell in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)
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