Scream 7 star Anna Camp apologized for defending the film amid boycotting attempts sparked by the firing of former Scream star Melissa Barrera.
Camp, 43, shared a social media post over the weekend that promoted the latest instalment of the horror franchise. It hit back at public protests against the film due to Barrera, 35, being fired for commenting on the conflict between Israel and Palestine in 2023.
The original post, created by the “Scream With Ryan C. Showers” podcast’s official account and shared by Camp — as captured by PopCrave — read, “The boycott didn’t work, the critics didn’t work, the pathetic leaks didn’t work. What worked was audiences coming out and making the film a success. #Scream7.”
Camp’s subsequent apology, shared on Sunday, March 1, read, “It has come to my attention that I reposted someone else’s story that does not reflect my personal beliefs. I have since deleted the repost because I absolutely meant no harm. I’m sorry to anyone who was affected.”
The social media misstep comes after Scream 7 director, Kevin Williamson, recently addressed protests staged at the film’s Los Angeles premiere. The filmmaker, 60, told Variety on Wednesday, February 25, “We live in a world where a lot of bad things are happening out there, and I think a lot of people want to be heard and they want to have their voice heard about the bad stuff that’s happening.”
The interview also saw Williamson express mixed feelings about Barrera’s exit from the project after she starred in 2022’s Scream, the franchise’s reboot following its 1996 debut, and 2023’s Scream VI. “My heart goes out to them. I don’t know if canceling Paramount+ is the way to do it. But I think people should listen to their inner self and do what feels good for them,” he told the outlet at the time.
Barrera was excluded from Scream 7’s production in 2023 after sharing pro-Palestine support that was interpreted as antisemetic by the film’s production company, Spyglass Media Group. A statement shared by Spyglass with Variety at the time 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.”
Barrera’s past Instagram posts regarding the political conflict voiced her opinions and, at one stage, reshared a post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
The actress said via an Instagram Story in the wake of her dismissal, “First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people. 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.”
While Camp, who joins the Scream franchise in Scream 7 for the first time, has not publicly spoken about Barrera’s firing, Barrera said in October 2024 that the franchise’s star Neve Campbell did not speak to her after her departure. “I think everyone makes their choices and what they think is best for them,” Barrera told Decider at the time.
