Jamie Kennedy has spoken out about Melissa Barrera‘s firing from Scream 7.
During an appearance on the Thing With Two Heads podcast (via CBR), Kennedy addressed Barrera's firing and Neve Campbell's return.
“It's incredible,” he said of Campbell returning. “I had heard rumblings, possibly, that this was going to occur… I think it's great that she's probably going to get the money that she deserves, I think that she's the face of the franchise… It built its whole thing on her back… Do I know the story? No, I do not know the story at all, so it will be fascinating to see what the story is.
“But it's awesome. She's back where she should be,” he continued.
In terms of Barrera, Kennedy seemed livid that she was fired. Back in November 2023, Barrera was fired from Scream 7 after posting about the Israel-Hamas conflict on social media. Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon subsequently left the project as well.
“Melissa is a beautiful person,” Kennedy said before talking about her exit. “Her getting fired was bulls**t. It's complete f**king bulls**t.
“And I've never seen anything like it in this town, to have a rising star fired in the middle of their ascension for an opinion. And I don't think it was that wild of an opinion… She was basically saying, ‘I don't want to see people get hurt on either side,'” Kennedy added.
At the end of the day, Kennedy is both happy for Campbell and sad for Barrera. He did add that he believes Barrera will be brought back into the fold someday. But “if not, I think she will soar.”
The Scream franchise
Jamie Kennedy was a part of the Scream franchise in the first two installments. He played Randy Meeks, a friend of Sidney Prescott (Campbell) and an avid horror movie fan. Even though his character dies, his legacy lives on.
In the fifth and sixth Scream films, fans are introduced to Randy's niece and nephew, Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) Meeks-Martin.
Those two films served as a retooling of the series. OG cast members Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette returned. Meanwhile, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega were introduced as the new leads of the franchise, Sam and Tara Carpenter.
They were set up for a huge future in the Scream series. However, as it stands, fans won't see the continuation of their stories. Perhaps once the dust has settled, Spyglass and Paramount will bring them back.
After all, Campbell didn't seem poised for a return. She sat out the sixth Scream film due to a contractual dispute. However, after Barrera and Ortega both exited the project, Campbell made her triumphant return to the franchise that made her a megastar. Scream creator Kevin Williamson will direct the seventh film.
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