Matthew Lillard 'ashamed' over Scream return after Melissa Barrera got fired
Matthew Lillard has insisted he always wants to speak out about important issues, but he's on the "wrong side of history" after returning to Scream.
Matthew Lillard feels "ashamed" for returning to Scream after Melissa Barrera's firing.
The 56-year-old actor reprised his role as Stu Macher, the original Ghostface, in Scream VII earlier this year after Melissa, 36, was axed by Spyglass Media in November 2023 following social media posts supporting Palestine and criticising Israel's actions, which the studio branded "hate speech".
During a Q+A session at a Scream 30th anniversary screening, Matthew was asked about the struggle of speaking out about important political issues.
He said: "I don’t know how else to do it. For me, I have queer kids.
"If I’m not standing up for queer kids or kids in the trans community then what the f*** am I doing? If I’m not standing up against ICE, then what the f*** am I doing?"
Matthew added that it's not "easy all the time", as he reference Melissa's exit from the franchise.
He continued: "Melissa Barrera, who’s a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said after the whole Palestinian — what started happening in Israel.
“It’s really f****** bulls*** and really hard and she’s on the right side of history. When they start coming after your job, sometimes things are worth it.”
Melissa later noted that job offers had dried up after being dropped from Scream 7, and Matthew argued that "the whole world didn't pipe up" when they should have.
He added: "I went back to do Scream, and I got called out. And I’m like, ‘Oh, f***. That’s brutal'.
“I feel bad about that. I feel ashamed about that. Because in that moment I was so excited to go back, I didn’t really think about Melissa and that journey. I didn’t say no.
“I’m embarrassed, that’s the truth… I blew that. I’m on the wrong side of history for that. I still like being in the movie [but] it may not have been the best idea.”
Melissa was let go from her leading role as Sam Carpenter in the iconic slasher series after playing the part in 2022's Scream V and 2023's Scream VI, because her posts supporting Palestine were deemed antisemitic by production firm Spyglass Media Group.
After being dropped from the seventh instalment, Melissa claimed work offers dried up for around "10 months" and she was only offered a handful of "small" parts, which she refuses to do because she must be "passionate" about her work – otherwise she will be "miserable".
She told The Independent: “It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything.
“There were times where I felt like my life was over.”
She continued: “It was quiet for, like, 10 months. I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, like, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything’.
“I would get [roles] that I wasn’t excited about, and I’ve never been a person that just wants to work for work’s sake. I give so much of myself to acting that if a part of me feels like it’s not worth it, I’m gonna be miserable."
She has since appeared in Your Monster and Abigail, with other projects like The One, The Collaboration and Black Tides in the pipeline, plus a TV role in 2025's The Copenhagen Test.
