Matthew Lillard thinks he’s “on the wrong side of history” for choosing to be in “Scream 7” after Melissa Barrera was fired for making pro-Palestine statements.
While speaking at a Q&A following a screening of “Scream” for the 30th anniversary of the horror film this week, Lillard was asked about speaking out on political issues as a public person and the difficulties that come with it. Lillard went long on his answer and eventually fell on the subject of Barrera’s firing for speaking out and being “ashamed” he didn’t support her.
“Melissa Barrera, who’s a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said after the whole Palestinian — what started happening in Israel,” Lillard said. “It’s really f—ing bulls–t and really hard and she’s on the right side of history. When they start coming after your job, sometimes things are worth it. When that happened to Melissa, the whole world didn’t pipe up. But she was a year early on what the f–k’s going on. But the whole world should have popped up and said, ‘She’s right.’ And they didn’t. And that’s brutal.”
He continued: “I went back to do ‘Scream,’ and I got called out. And I’m like, ‘Oh, f–k. That’s brutal.’ I feel bad about that. I feel ashamed about that. Because in that moment I was so excited to go back, I didn’t really think about Melissa and that journey. I didn’t say no. I’m embarrassed; that’s the truth … I blew that. I’m on the wrong side of history for that. I still like being in the movie. It may not have been the best idea.”
Back in 2023, Barrera took to social media to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and criticized Israel in their war with Hamas. Shortly after her posts, “Scream” producer Spyglass issued their own statement that they did not support Barrera’s posts and that she was being cut from “Scream 7.”
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.”
The firing led to a massive shakeup with the film. Director Christopher Landon and co-star Jenna Ortega also left the film following Barrera. The story was then reworked to focus on Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott and her daughter being hunted by a new Ghostface.
