Scream star Hayden Panettiere calls Melissa Barrera's firing 'very unfair and upsetting'

Scream franchise star Hayden Panettiere has spoken out about Melissa Barrera's recent firing from the horror series.

Barrera played the role of Sam Carpenter in 2022's Scream and last year's Scream VI, but production company Spyglass dropped her from the upcoming Scream VII in November after she posted a series of messages on social media expressing support for the Palestinian cause and criticizing Israeli actions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

Panettiere, who also appeared in Scream VI, has described Barrera's dismissal as "very unfair and upsetting."

"After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right?" the Nashville star said in a new interview with The Messenger. "It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else."

The actress also revealed that after learning of her dismissal she contacted Barrera, who thanked her for reaching out.

"You know, a lot of people hadn't really asked her how she felt," she said in the interview.

But Panettiere is not worried about Barrera, whom she called "a badass as a human being and as an actress," adding, "She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it."

In the Scream franchise, Panettiere played the part of Kirby Reed, a role she first portrayed in 2011's Wes Craven–directed Scream IV. She returned to the franchise with Scream VI, directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, after a period away from acting during which she battled depression and addiction.

"It was daunting, honestly," she told EW last year. "I was worried that I couldn't act anymore. I mean, I took four years off. I had to remind myself of what I could do and to make sure that I could still do it. But I knew I made the right decision. This was the best first movie back that I could have dreamt of… I was 21 when I did Scream 4, and Wes Craven, the whole cast, the whole crew, it was such a family. I was hoping to find the same thing here, and I very definitely did."

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