Jenna Ortega recently opened up about her Scream 7 exit and revealed the real reason why she won’t be returning to the horror franchise for its next entry.
What is the reason for Jenna Ortega leaving Scream 7?
Speaking to The Cut in a recent profile, Ortega spoke briefly about her time in the Scream universe. Following Melissa Barrera’s firing from Scream 7 in 2023, it was reported that Ortega would also not be returning to the project.
At the time, her departure was reported to be due to her scheduling getting busier and discrepancies in pay, both of which Ortega denied. She credited Barrera’s firing, as well as the departure of the Radio Silence filmmaking team, as the main reasons for her exit.
“It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling,” said Ortega. “The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart. If Scream 7 wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
In 2024, Spyglass Media Group fired Melissa Barrera from the franchise for speaking out against Israel. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Barrera recalled what a tough time it was in the moment.
“It’s definitely hard, because I was just in such a cloudy state of mind, but I was very fortunate,” said Barrera. “I had a lot of support from the people around me: my team and specifically my publicists — they just carried me.”
Barrera praised Ortega at the time, however, for being a friend and someone who stood up with and stood by her during the time.
(Source: The Cut)
