By Actress Hayden Panettiere, who appeared in both “Scream 4” and “Scream VI,” has spoken out about Melissa Barrera’s firing from the horror film series in November last year.
Speaking with The Messenger, Panettiere called Barrera’s controversial exit “very unfair and upsetting”. Barrera was let go after she made several social media posts about the Israel-Palestine war which production company Spyglass took issue with.
Panettiere, who plays Kirby Reed in the series and co-starred with Barrera in last year’s sixth installment, reached out to her co-star when she heard.
She did so because “a lot of people hadn’t really asked her how she felt” and said Barrera thanked her for checking in. Talking about the situation, Panettiere says:
“After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right? It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else.”
She adds that she isn’t worried about Barrera in the future as the actress will keep pushing forward:
“Melissa is such a badass as a human being and as an actress… She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it.”
In the wake of Barrera’s firing, co-star Jenna Ortega was also confirmed to be leaving the franchise due to a scheduling conflict. Shortly after director Christopher Landon announced his departure from the movie.
The post Panettiere Talks Barrera’s “Scream VII” Exit appeared first on Dark Horizons.
