Melissa Barrera will not be reprising her role as Sam Carpenter in the upcoming ‘Scream VII‘ it has been confirmed by Deadline.
Barrera was set to return to the franchise alongside Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter, Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin. The actress has been dropped after her comments on social media regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, which have been perceived as anti-semitic.
In a statement on behalf of Spyglass, the studio behind the ‘Scream’ reboot, a rep 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.”
Fans have taken to social media to air their frustration and anger at the situation, with director Christopher Landon, who is replacing previous directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, taking some of the heat. In a now deleted message on X, he said:
‘This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.’
The dropping of Barrera creates a problem for ‘Scream VII’, which was supposed to resolve the arc of her character Sam. Barrera has been front and centre in the reboot alongside Ortega as her sister Tara.
It remains to be seen if Barrera’s departure will impact on any of the rest of the cast expected to return. Nothing has been confirmed from Spyglass or Paramount about the cast for the new movie but without Barrera, they may well have to go back to the drawing board.
