Movies November 22, 2023
Why Jenna Ortega Is Reportedly Exiting ‘Scream VII’
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Jenna Ortega has departed the upcoming “Scream VII” film.
Variety confirms that Ortega had to drop out of the project due to her shooting schedule for the second season of “Wednesday.”
The news comes just a day after Ortega’s co-star Melissa Barrera was fired from the movie for her social media posts about the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Ortega’s exit was not a result of Barrera’s firing. A source told the outlet that Ortega’s exit was communicated months before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
In the spring, Jenna will be traveling to Ireland to shoot Season 2 of “Wednesday,” which could continue through the summer.
“Wednesday” aside, Ortega will need to finish filming her movie “Beetlejuice 2,” which was halted by the strike.
In the “Scream” franchise, Jenna and Melissa play sisters. It is unclear where the story will go, now that the two are no longer part of the project.
On Tuesday, Spyglass Media Group confirmed Melissa’s firing. In a statement, it said, “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.”
Barrera broke her silence on social media, writing on her Instagram Story, "First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people."
She continued, "As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need."
"Every person on the earth — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status — deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom. I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism."
"I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom."
She ended with, "Silence is not an option for me."
Director Christopher Landon responded to the firing in a now-deleted post on X. He wrote, “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
