As the stars of Scream 7 gathered Wednesday at Paramount Studios for the slasher sequel’s world premiere, “Free Palestine” protesters lined up outside the entrance to the lot.
More than two years after she was fired from the franchise for speaking up about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Melissa Barrera seemingly reacted to the show of support from protesters boycotting the Kevin Williamson-helmed movie.
“I see you,” wrote Barrera on her Instagram Story with a heart emoji.
Meanwhile, Williamson commented on the protest as he walked the red carpet inside the lot. “We live in America. We have the right to protest. They have the right to be heard, and they have a right to speak to what your truth is, and I support that,” he told Deadline.
The protest was led by members of Entertainment Labor for Palestine, CodePink LA and Jewish Voice for Peace-Los Angeles, meant to call attention “to the industry’s widespread silencing of pro-Palestinian voices and its whitewashing of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
After the first trailer for Scream 7 was released in October, fans quickly began slamming the movie on social media, calling for a boycott.
Spyglass fired Barrera in November 2023 over her social media posts on the Israel-Hamas conflict and the “atrocities being committed against Palestinians,” explaining the company has “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.”
Following her ousting, Jenna Ortega also exited the franchise, later noting that the sequel “was all kind of falling apart” without Barrera to play its new ‘final girl’ Sam Carpenter. Director Christopher Landon dropped out of the project as well, citing “highly aggressive and really scary” death threats targeting his children.
Campbell was then brought back to reprise her role as OG “final girl” Sidney Campbell in March 2024, with original Scream (1996) writer Williamson on board to direct. She previously sat out Scream VI (2023) over the low pay offer.