Melissa Barrera revealed she hasn’t spoken with Neve Campbell since their respective issues with the Scream franchise.
Barrera, 34, reacted to Campbell’s surprising decision to return for the upcoming seventh film, telling Decider earlier this month that she “fully respects” her former costar.
“We haven’t really spoken,” Barrera said when asked if she’s been in touch with Campbell, 51. “I think everyone makes their choices and what they think is best for them.”
Barrera made it clear she wasn’t at odds with Campbell, adding, “I fully respect what people think that they need to do, to keep going in this life.”
Campbell rose to stardom after starring as Sidney Prescott in the slasher films from 1996 to 2011 alongside Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Campbell reprised her role in 2022’s Scream but subsequently didn’t return for the sixth film after rejecting the studio’s salary offer.
“Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film. As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise,” Campbell told Luxury Handbag Shopping in a statement in June 2022. “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
Campbell has since returned ahead of the seventh Scream installment. The surprising news came three months after Barrera was fired following her comments about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. The production company behind the newest batch of Scream films, Spyglass Media Group, subsequently denied that Barrera’s pro-Palestine comments were what caused her exit.
Barrera subsequently broke her silence about no longer playing Sam Carpenter.
“First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,” she wrote via Instagram Story that same month, noting she felt a “responsibility” to speak out. “As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need. Every person on this earth — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status — deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom.”
Jenna Ortega will also not return in the role of Tara Carpenter because of her filming schedule for season 2 of Netflix’s Wednesday. Director Christopher Landon, who was set to succeed Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, later pulled out as well.
Barrera has remained in the horror space with movies such as Abigail and now her Halloween rom-com Your Monster.
“In my contracts it says that I have to be covered in blood by the end of a movie,” the actress exclusively joked to Us ahead of the film’s October 25 release. “But it is a thing with me and I truly love it. I find it very funny because to me, [Your Monster] is a Halloween rom-com, because it has horror elements, but if someone’s expecting to go into this to see a horror movie, they’re going to be disappointed because you’re going to be laughing your face off for most of it.”
