'The business that we work in is so touchy-feely': Jenna Ortega speaks out on Melissa Barrera’s Scream VII firing
Jenna Ortega feels Hollywood is too "touchy-feely" about sensitive issues after Melissa Barrera was fired from the film 'Scream VII' for social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Jenna Ortega thinks Hollywood has become "so touchy-feely" following Melissa Barrera’s firing from ‘Scream VII’.
The 'In The Heights' star was axed from the horror franchise last November after she posted a series of pro-Palestinian comments on social media about the Israel-Hamas War and now Barrera’s 21-year-old co-star - who played her sister Tara Carpenter in 2022’s ‘Scream’ and ‘Scream VI’ - has argued people need to gain a "better sense of conversation" about sensitive subjects.
She told Vanity Fair magazine: "The business that we work in is so touchy-feely. Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty. I wish that we had a better sense of conversation.
"Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument."
After her comments, production company Spyglass Media denounced Barrera and emphasised that the studio had "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form".
The statement read: "Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech."
While Barrera was removed from the horror flick, Ortega also left the project due to scheduling conflicts with the second season of ‘Wednesday’.
Meanwhile, the actress will next be seen in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, which will see Michael Keaton reprise his role as the troublesome ghost.
Reflecting on the legacy sequel - in which Ortega and Keaton appear alongside Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe - the actress admitted she felt like her "soul left [her] body" when she first saw her co-star dressed as Beetlejuice.
She said: "I remember feeling my soul leave my body for a second. And then in between takes, he’s sitting down and drinking his tea."
The actress added she hopes to remember the experience of making the flick “for the rest of [her] life”.
She gushed: "Every time I walked onto that set, I wanted to remember it for the rest of my life."
