Matthew Lillard regrets his Scream 7 role after co-star's firing
Matthew Lillard says he is ashamed to have appeared in the latest Scream sequel. Per Variety, the actor expressed regret for taking part in Scream 7 after franchise star Melissa Barrera was dismissed from the project.
Lillard's comments came during a fan Q&A at a 30th-anniversary screening for the original film. He stated he feels "embarrassed" and believes he's "on the wrong side of history" for returning to the series, according to both Variety and MovieWeb.
The actor explained that in his excitement to reprise his iconic role as Stu Macher, he failed to consider Barrera's situation. Barrera was fired by producer Spyglass Media following social media posts she made about the conflict in Gaza, which the company described as crossing a line into hate speech.
Lillard called Barrera's firing "really fucking bullshit" and said she was "a year early" in her commentary. He praised her for being on "the right side of history," while lamenting that more people in the industry did not speak up in her defense at the time.
The actor also discussed the general difficulty of political speech for public figures, linking it to his own advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and his stance against immigration enforcement agencies.
