Jenna Ortega Confirms ‘Scream VII’ Exit After Co-Star Fired

Jenna Ortega might’ve filled theaters for Scream VI, but she is not expected to return for Scream VII, Deadline reports—although perhaps not for the reason you think.

Following Melissa Barrera’s dismissal from the upcoming sequel due to her social media posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict, social media users have called for Ortega to boycott the Spyglass Media project—enough to get Ortega’s name trending on X, formerly known as Twitter. By Wednesday morning, viral tweets had begun circulating claiming that Ortega had requested to leave the project. (Ortega’s publicist did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.)

According to Deadline, Ortega’s absence from the upcoming film “has nothing to do” with Barrrera, and “nor does it have to do with the actress asking for an end to her Scream contract.” Instead, Deadline reports, sources say that the parties involved had already discussed the matter before the actors strike began this summer; the trade attributes her exit from the project to scheduling conflicts with Wednesday and Beetlejuice. Variety has also confirmed that Ortega’s exit stems from a scheduling conflict with Wednesday Season 2.

Read more at The Daily Beast.