Matthew Lillard feels 'ashamed' for acting in Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired

Chiara FiorilloThu, September 17, 2026 at 7:51 AM UTC

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Matthew Lillard got candid about his decision to reprise his role in Scream 7 -Credit:Getty Images for Universal Pictu

Matthew Lillard has admitted he feels "ashamed" and "embarrassed" for returning to the Scream franchise after his former co-star Melissa Barrera was fired.

The actor, 56, reprised his role as Stu Macher in Scream 7 - but during a Q&A session at the 30th anniversary screening of the original Scream film on Tuesday, September 15, he got candid about his feelings following the firing of former lead actress Melissa. The 36-year-old star was abruptly dropped from the franchise by production company Spyglass Media Group after she made social media posts criticizing Israel and expressing support for Palestine.

In one post, Melissa described Gaza as a "concentration camp" and the Israeli government's actions as "genocide and ethnic cleansing." Earlier this year, the actress spoke out about her firing, calling out her former co-stars for staying on the project after she was booted out.

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While taking questions from the audience during this week's Q&A, Matthew was asked by a fan about the difficulty of speaking out on political issues as a public figure. According to footage shared by a fan on social media, the actor replied, "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--k am I doing? If I'm not standing up against ICE, then what the f--k am I doing?" However, he admitted, "I don't think it's easy all the time."

The actor reprised his role as Stu Macher -Credit:Paramount Pictures

Reflecting on Melissa's firing, he said the actress is "on the right side of history" for speaking out, saying, "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---ing bulls--- and really hard and she's on the right side of history."

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"When they start coming after your job, sometimes things are worth it," he added, as he condemned Hollywood's response to the actress and admitted he was among those who should have responded differently. "I went back to do Scream, and I got called out," Matthew said.

He added, "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."

Reflecting on his decision to reprise his role, Matthew said he feels "embarrassed" and said he is "on the wrong side of history for that." He added that while he still likes being in the movie, "it may not have been the best idea."

Melissa Barrera was fired for sharing pro-Palestine posts on social media -Credit:Paramount Pictures

Matthew's admission comes months after Melissa was asked in an interview with Variety if she felt like her fellow co-stars were "scabs" for sticking by the project after she was axed. A "scab" is a term for someone who continues to work, returns to work, or takes a new job while fellow employees are on strike.

Melissa said, "Oh, one hundred percent. I think they all are. And they have to live with that. The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible."

The star went on to add that being fired from the movie for standing up for what she believed in made her question her own morals and even turned to God in search for answers. She said, "When you're doing something that feels like it's the right thing to do, and then you're punished for it, it really f---s with your head. For me, I was like, 'Wait — I'm trying to call out something that is severely, severely wrong and evil, and I get punished for it. I get everything taken from me."

Melissa said she wanted to use her platform to raise awareness of the issues she cares about -Credit:Getty Images

She continued, "What is the lesson I'm supposed to learn?' I was even questioning God: 'What are You trying to teach me? Because I don't understand why the ones that are trying to do the right thing are getting punished, and the people that are like la-la-la-la-la continue to rise. I don't understand this game. What is this?!' It was a rude awakening."

Spyglass issued a statement at the time of Melissa's firing, saying it had "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."

In response, Melissa released her own statement on social media responding directly to the controversy. She wrote that "silence is not an option" as she condemned both antisemitism and Islamophobia while saying that she used her platform to raise awareness of the issues she cares about.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”