Jenna Ortega departs from Scream VII the day after fellow cast member Melissa Barrera was dismissed due to her pro-Palestine social media posts

Actor Jenna Ortega has departed from the Scream franchise reportedly due to conflicting filming commitments with Netflix’s popular series, Wednesday. Reports from publications like Deadline and Variety refute any connection between Ortega’s exit and the termination of her on-screen sister, Melissa Barrera, over her pro-Palestine comments. Ortega has consistently expressed strong support for Palestine throughout the years.

Ortega and Barrera portrayed Tara and Sam Carpenter in Scream V and Scream VI and were initially set to reprise these roles in the seventh installment of the film.

Barrera’s dismissal was announced following her “antisemitic” remarks. Spyglass, the production company, explicitly stated their zero-tolerance policy towards antisemitism or any hate-inciting speech, citing references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or any form of hate speech in their statement. They alleged that Barrera’s comments about Israel being a “colonized land” and her assertion that “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side” perpetuated antisemitic tropes.

While certain publications deny any link between Ortega’s departure and Barrera’s firing, the timing of the news a day later has fueled speculation online, especially given their shared perspectives on Palestine.

Many perceive Ortega’s departure as an act of solidarity.

In a statement shared on Instagram on Thursday, Barrera reaffirmed her commitment to her advocacy.

Previously, the film’s director, Christopher Landon, responded to Barrera’s exit in a now-deleted statement on X (formerly Twitter), expressing frustration: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”