It was announced last year that Spyglass Media had fired Scream star Melissa Barrera after alleging that the actress made anti-Semitic comments following the attack in Israel and the invasion of Gaza. Hayden Panettiere came to the defence of Melissa Barrera while speaking with The Messenger, calling her firing “very unfair and upsetting.“

“After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right?” Panettiere said. “It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else.” Panettiere added that she reached out to Barrera after hearing the news, who thanked her for reaching out. “You know, a lot of people hadn’t really asked her how she felt,” Panettiere said, adding that she’s not worried about Barrera. “Melissa is such a badass as a human being and as an actress,” she said. “She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it.“

Since Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7, we’ve also seen Jenna Ortega drop out of the film, citing scheduling conflicts with the second season of Wednesday, as well as director Christopher Landon. The Freaky director was very excited about helming the latest installment of the Scream franchise, but his dream job soon turned into a nightmare. “I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” Landon said. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on. I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.“

As for Barrera, she doesn’t harbour any ill will towards the franchise, despite what happened. “I’m just so grateful on what I got to infuse in the franchise, and that’s something I’ll be proud of forever,” she said. The actress also reunited with her fellow Scream co-stars at Sundance. “We’re family for life,” Barrera said. “If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at the event. When we find each other, we just want to spend the night with each other, and nothing is ever going to change that.“

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