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The actress claims that the movie ‘Bitelchús Bitelchús’ played a role in her exit from the film project.
Melissa Barrera’s Turmoil in ‘Scream 7’
Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega starred alongside notable actors like Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere in Scream VI. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $168 million at the box office, and the entire team was gearing up for a seventh installment of the series. Unfortunately, the pre-production phase for Scream 7 turned into a complicated situation. The production company, Spyglass Media Group, made the controversial decision to terminate Barrera, which subsequently affected Ortega, who chose to leave the project following her co-star’s dismissal.
Events of November 2023
Reflecting on the events from November 2023, on the 21st of that month, Barrera took to social media to express her views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. She shared that Gaza was being treated like a concentration camp, stating, “They are cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, without electricity or water. People haven’t learned anything from our history. Just like in our past, people continue to watch silently as these events unfold. This is genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
This bold statement raised alarms at Spyglass Media Group, who quickly decided to remove Barrera from the production due to her stance on what they labeled as “zero tolerance” with anti-Semitism and hate speech. The company emphasized that they would not tolerate any form of false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, or misrepresentation of the Holocaust, which they considered to cross the line into hate speech.
Barrera’s Response and Industry Reaction
In response, Barrera expressed, “At the end of the day, I prefer to be excluded for inclusion rather than included for exclusion.” The public nature of the debate prompted Christopher Landon, the director of Scream 7, to voice his confusion: “Everything is a disaster. Stop yelling at me. This was not my decision.”
Jenna Ortega’s Unexpected Exit
The pre-production turmoil of Scream 7 appeared untenable. Barrera was out, and the chaos did not stop there. Social media users quickly pointed out that Ortega had publicly commented on the same conflict months earlier, leading many to question why she remained attached to the project while Barrera did not. Was it mere coincidence? Many were skeptical.
Just a day after Barrera’s departure was announced, Ortega’s exit from the project was also made public. It was stated that her decision was unrelated to Barrera’s situation. The explanation given was that the actress could not manage the filming schedules for Scream 7, the Wednesday series, and the sequel to Bitelchús Bitelchús, forcing her to make a choice among her several commitments.
Interestingly, Ortega had starred in a Marvel film before she began working on Bitelchús Bitelchús. This decision proved wise as the Tim Burton sequel became a significant hit at the box office this summer. While the true circumstances surrounding her involvement in Scream 7 remain ambiguous, the lead of In the Heights publicly expressed gratitude to Barrera, mentioning that she had been “very sweet” following her co-star’s release.
In August, the actress, known for her collaborations with Burton, commented to Variety: “I wish we had a better sense of conversation. Imagine if everyone could express their feelings without being judged and instead generate some type of debate, not just arguments. Am I describing world peace?”
