Lillard Feels Ashamed Over Scream 7

Matthew Lillard Says He Feels “Ashamed” for Acting in Scream 7 After Melissa Barrera’s Firing

Matthew Lillard did not hedge. At a 30th anniversary screening of the original Scream, he said he feels “ashamed” that he returned as Stu Macher in Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired from the franchise.

The remarks, captured on fan video and published on September 16 and 17, 2026 by Variety, Entertainment Weekly, USA TODAY, Rolling Stone, and The Hollywood Reporter, are the clearest public regret yet from a Scream 7 cast member tied to Barrera’s 2023 exit.

source: Wikimedia Commons / LA LATA, from a 2023 Scream VI press interview

What Lillard said in Austin

The Q&A took place Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at an Austin, Texas screening marking 30 years of Wes Craven’s 1996 film. A fan asked how hard it is for an actor to speak on politics.

Lillard said some issues feel nonnegotiable for him, including support for queer and trans kids as a father. Then he turned to Barrera.

“Melissa Barrera, who’s a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said after the whole Palestinian, what started happening in Israel,” he said, according to transcripts published by Variety and Rolling Stone. “It’s really fing 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.”

He did not stop there. “When that happened to Melissa, the whole world didn’t pipe up. But she was a year early on what the f***’s going on. But the whole world should have popped up and said, ‘She’s right.’ And they didn’t. And that’s brutal.”

Then he put himself in the frame.

“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.”

USA TODAY said it reached out to Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group after the comments. As of the first wave of coverage, neither company had issued a new public response to Lillard.

How Barrera was removed, and what the studio said

Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI. She was set to continue that role in the seventh film. In November 2023, Spyglass Media Group cut her from the project after social media posts about Israel’s war in Gaza.

One widely cited Instagram story said Gaza was “being treated like a concentration camp” and declared, “THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.” Spyglass told Variety 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.”

Barrera has said she condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia and described the posts as advocacy for Palestinian civilians. The studio did not reverse the firing. Jenna Ortega later said she left because the project was “all kind of falling apart.” Original Scream 7 director Christopher Landon later said he exited about a week after Barrera’s removal because “the whole script was about her.”

Kevin Williamson directed the finished film. Neve Campbell returned as Sidney Prescott. Lillard, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding were among the familiar faces who stayed.

Scream 7 opened in the United States on February 27, 2026. Wikipedia and multiple trade reports list a worldwide gross of about $214 million, making it the highest-grossing Scream film in unadjusted dollars. In May 2026, Barrera told Variety that returning cast members had to “live with” that choice and called the finished movie “nostalgia-bait.” Lillard’s Austin remarks are the first major on-the-record admission from a Scream 7 actor that the decision still sits badly with him.

source: Paramount Pictures / YouTube official trailer thumbnail

Watch the official trailer here: Scream 7 | Official Trailer

Fan footage of Lillard’s Austin answer also circulated on TikTok via @cocteautriplets, which several outlets used as the primary record of the quotes.

The contradiction is now on the record. Lillard says he still likes the movie. He also says saying yes placed him on the wrong side of the moment that cost Barrera the role. That is not a press release. It is a franchise original, on a microphone, telling a room he blew it.

Would you have walked away from Scream 7, or is that an unfair test to put on one actor? Drop your take in the comments. Like this if the quotes surprised you. Follow and subscribe so you do not miss the next chapter.

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#Scream7 #MatthewLillard #MelissaBarrera #Ghostface #Hollywood

Sources

Variety, “Matthew Lillard Says ‘I Feel Ashamed’ for Acting in ‘Scream 7’ After Melissa Barrera Got Fired,” Sept. 16, 2026
Entertainment Weekly, Sept. 16, 2026
USA TODAY, Sept. 16, 2026
Rolling Stone, Sept. 17, 2026
The Hollywood Reporter, Sept. 16, 2026
The Wrap, Sept. 16, 2026
Variety, Spyglass statement on Barrera’s firing, Nov. 21, 2023
Wikipedia, Scream 7 box office and release details