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Matthew Lillard Regrets Scream 7 Return After Melissa Barrera's Firing
Confirmed
In Short: Matthew Lillard expressed regret for returning to Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired for her political views.
At a Q&A session for the original Scream's 30th anniversary, Matthew Lillard candidly admitted his embarrassment over returning to the franchise for Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired.
Lillard, who played Stu Macher in the original 1996 film, said he was too excited about reprising his role to consider Barrera's firing, which occurred after she posted pro-Palestinian statements on social media.
Barrera's firing and the subsequent lack of industry support for her actions prompted Lillard to reflect on his own decision. He noted that the industry's silence on Barrera's firing was troubling.
During the Q&A, Lillard emphasized the importance of standing up for marginalized communities and criticized the lack of solidarity shown to Barrera. He felt that Hollywood's response to her firing was inadequate.
Lillard's comments come as Spyglass Media Group continues development on Scream 8, despite the controversy surrounding Scream 7. His admission highlights the complex ethical considerations faced by actors in the entertainment industry.
What's confirmed
- Lillard was taking questions from the audience when one fan asked about the difficulty of speaking out on contentious political issues as a public figure.
- “Melissa Barrera, who’s a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said after the whole Palestinian— what started happening in Israel,” Lillard said.
- “When that happened to Melissa, the whole world didn’t pipe up,” he said.
- Matthew Lillard is “embarrassed” about his decision to star in Scream 7 after franchise star Melissa Barrera ’s abrupt firing.
- “I don’t know how else to do it,” Lillard replied in a fan-recorded video.
- “I feel bad about that, I feel ashamed about that,” Lillard said.
What's still developing
- As reported by Entertainment Weekly, at a Q&A for the original Wes Craven-directed slasher’s 30th anniversary, Lillard, who memorably played Stu Macher, [SPOILER for 30-year-old movie] one half of the villainous Ghostface killer, expressed candid regrets for choosing to return for the franchise’s seventh outing earlier this year.
- In a week where a certain other famous person we could mention has come under fire for tossing a colleague under the bus for speaking out about the bloodshed in Gaza, Scream star Matthew Lillard has taken the opposite tack—if perhaps a little too late to help.
- Lillard is currently starring in Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Carrie television adaptation, which premieres on October 7 on Amazon Prime Video.
- Matthew Rhys, who grew up in Cardiff, made history at the Emmy Awards, becoming the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night Hollywood actor Matthew Rhys has made history at the Emmys by becoming the first person to win two lead acting prizes in one night.
- Kathleen Turner and Matthew Rhys in the West End production of The Graduate in 2000 At the start of his career, Rhys was so desperate for work he considered joining the Army.
- "And I went, 'oh my God, I can't even join the Army'." Ioan Gruffudd, left, and Matthew Rhys have been friends since school In 2006, Rhys moved to Hollywood and surrounded himself with fellow Welsh actors - including Michael Sheen and Ioan Gruffudd.
- But as production company Spyglass was gearing up for Scream 7, it dropped the actress in late 2023 for making pro-Palestine statements on social media in which she criticized the actions of Israel in the Israel-Hamas war and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
- The actor, who starred as OG Ghostface Stu Macher in the original 1996 slasher and returned for the seventh entry, was candid about his complex feelings during a Tuesday night Q&A session for a Scream 30th anniversary screening.