Jenna Ortega Reveals Real Reason for Leaving Scream 7

Photo: Instagram/@jennaortega

Hollywood actress Jenna Ortega has finally spoken up about why she left the Scream movie series. Many people thought she left because of scheduling problems or because she didn’t get paid enough. But now, Jenna says that’s not true at all.

Jenna played Tara Carpenter in Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). Fans were surprised when she left the upcoming Scream 7 in November 2023. She told The Cut that her choice to leave had nothing to do with her pay or her busy schedule.

Jenna said, “It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart.” She also explained that if Scream 7 wasn’t going to have the same directors and cast that she loved working with, it didn’t feel like the right choice for her career.

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So, what did she mean by “Melissa stuff”?

Jenna was talking about her co-star Melissa Barrera, who also starred in Scream with her. Melissa was removed from Scream 7 after she posted messages on social media about the war between Israel and Palestine. She showed support for Palestine and strongly criticized Israel. This upset the production company, Spyglass Media Group. They said they do not allow any kind of hate speech, including what they called “false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, or Holocaust distortion.”

After Melissa was fired, some fans believed Jenna left to support her. Jenna hasn’t directly said that, but the timing made people think it was possible.

Around the same time, Scream 7’s director Christopher Landon posted on social media saying, “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” He later deleted the post. A month later, he also left the movie and said, “It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare.”

Now, Scream 7 will be directed by Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original Scream movie. Actress Neve Campbell, a longtime star of the franchise, will be returning for this new film.

As for Jenna Ortega, she has moved on to other big projects. She’s working on the second season of her hit Netflix series Wednesday, and she also starred in the successful movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Jenna shared that she wants to try new things and work with new filmmakers. She said, “I’ve been lucky to join some big franchises, but now I want to focus on original stories and new directors.” She also said she knows some people might find her choices strange, but she enjoys taking on different kinds of roles, like the one in A24’s Death of a Unicorn, which is a new and original story.

In the end, Jenna wants to follow her heart and do work that feels meaningful to her.