Jenna Ortega Opens Up About Her Exit From Scream & Clarifies It “Had Nothing To Do With Pay Or Scheduling… “
After Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream, Jenna Ortega announced her exit from the film franchise. Now, in a recent interview, she revealed the real reason.
Jenna Ortega is one of the most talented rising young actresses today. She has already proved her acting mettle in several projects, including Wednesday, Bettlejuice Bettlejuice, and more. The actress has already been in many iconic franchises, one of which was the slasher movie franchise, Scream. After Melissa Barrera, who played her onscreen sister, was fired from the next movie, Jenna also announced her abrupt exit.
Although, at that time, reports suggested Ortega left the franchise because of pay or scheduling conflicts, the actress has now refuted those rumors and talked about what made her decide to exit. In a recent conversation with The Cut, she opened up about it. Scroll ahead to read on.
Jenna Ortega revealed to The Cut that it “had nothing to do with pay or scheduling” and continued to explain what pushed her to make such a decision. She said, “The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all falling apart. If Scream VII wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
The Wednesday actress further mentioned that Scream VII’s filming was moving forward without Melissa and without the directors, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. She shared how people might have seen her decision as weird and talked about how she chose what she believed in despite that. Ortega said, “I’ve happened to join a lot of franchises, which is so great to be a part of the legacy. But I’m really trying to prioritize new directors and original stories. I know on the outside, maybe people are looking at my choices like, ‘Man, what the hell is this girl doing?’ I never thought I would do a movie with unicorns. But an original script is exciting. If I can help get it made, I love to do that.”
For those who don’t know, Melissa Barrera was abruptly fired from Scream VII over a few of her social media posts that voiced her opinions for the Palestinian cause. She criticized the Israeli actions, which were termed as “hate speech” by the production company. Despite getting fired, Barrera never backed down from her standpoint. She wrote in an Instagram caption, “I will continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me.”
Jenna Ortega who played her sister in Scream and Scream VI, reached out to her and extended her support towards Melissa. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter she said, “She’s been very supportive of me, and we’re sisters for life.” After they exited, Landon also departed from the franchise.
Now, Scream VII will see the return of the core members Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), and David Arquette (Deputy Dewey Riley).
