Jamie Kennedy, the star who played Randy Meeks in the Scream franchise, says that Melissa Barrera
, the actor who played Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream and Scream VI, should never have been fired during pre-production of Scream 7. Barrera was removed from her lead role in the film after she made social media posts denouncing Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, and the studio backing the project decided to part ways with her.
Kennedy appeared on Fox News Digital to talk about cancel culture: “I think the whole idea, the term ‘cancel’…Think how insane that term is. Like, ‘Hey, you know what? We don’t like what you said. Canceled.’ Like, you talk about inclusive. That’s like the most uninclusive thing of all time.” It was there that he addressed the issue with Barrera’’ removal from the upcoming horror sequel Scream 7:
“She should have never been fired. She has her beliefs, OK? She’s allowed to have her beliefs. Other people on set have other beliefs. This is, you know, it’s the most difficult subject — one of the most difficult subjects to discuss right now in modern times. And she’s brave enough to put her beliefs out there. If you don’t like them, call her up. Talk to her.
“I had never seen that in terms of like a star so hot, so on her rise – just everything ripped away for a tweet. A tweet! It was ridiculous, and it’s just gonna fuel more people going, ‘Why did you do that?'”
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Scream 7 is set to be released in February 2026. The film is directed by Kevin Williamson, who’s working with a script written by Guy Busick. It stars Scream alumni Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Roger Jackson, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, David Arquette, Scott Foley and Matthew Lillard. Newcomers include Isabel May, Joel McHale, Anna Camp, Ethan Embry, Mckenna Grace and Asa Germann, among others.
Could a Divided Reaction to Barrera’s Firing Put the ‘Scream’ Franchise in Peril?
There’s a possibility that Barrera’s removal from the next Scream installment will have a negative effect on the movie. And if you think the discourse has run out of steam, just go on X and see the replies to all the posts regarding Scream 7. There’s a very clear division between those who have decided to forget the discussion, and those who still believe Barrera deserved better and express it. Those in favor of her often call people out to boycott the movie.
The question lies in the numbers. Just like there’s a huge chunk of fans who have decided the Scream franchise is not for them any more due to Barrera’s firing, there were many who reacted similarly when the new revival of Scream focused on new characters. Those were the ones who got seriously angry when Sidney was nowhere to be seen in Scream VI. Did this affect the box office projections? Not at all. Everyone still went to see the movie, and the 2023 sequel made nearly $169 million, becoming the third highest-grossing movie in the franchise.
In less than a year, we’ll see the return of Ghostface in a newly reformed franchise that changed some of its leads, and brought back some of its dead characters. It’s a risky move, of course, but it’s promising that producers have decided to involve those who turned a slasher movie idea into a franchise with a legacy as strong as Scream‘s.
Source: Fox News Digital