Matthew Lillard has some regrets about his "Scream" return.
During a recent Q&A, the "Scooby-Doo" actor, 56, said he feels ashamed that he starred in this year's "Scream 7" after Melissa Barrera was controversially fired from the horror sequel due to comments about Israel and Palestine.
"I went back to do 'Scream,' and I got called out," Lillard said, according to footage from the event shared on social media. "And I'm like, 'Oh ... that's brutal.' And 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 the journey, and didn't say no. But I'm embarrassed. That's the truth."
He added, "I blew that. I'm on the wrong side of history with that. I still like being
in the movie, but it may not have been the best idea."
Lillard also argued that Barrera was "on the right side of history" and that more people should have spoken up to defend her.
"When that happened to Melissa, the whole world didn't pipe up, but she was, like, a year early on what ... [is] going on," he said. "But the whole world should have popped up and said, 'She's right,' and they didn't. And that's brutal."
USA TODAY has reached out to Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group.
Barrera played the lead character, Samantha Carpenter, in the fifth and sixth "Scream" movies. She was expected to return for the seventh installment but was fired in 2023 due to social media posts she made in support of Palestine and critical of Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war. Barrera's posts included one that said Gaza was "being treated like a concentration camp" and that "THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."
At the time, a spokesperson for Spyglass Media Group told USA TODAY that the production company has "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."
The actress said she condemns "hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people."
Jenna Ortega, who played the sister of Barrera's character, declined to return for "Scream 7."
The movie went through a creative retooling and a number of behind-the-scenes changes after Barrera's removal, and its original director also departed. The final movie shifted focus back to Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, the franchise's original lead character. Sidney had moved into a supporting role in the fifth film and was absent from the sixth after Campbell exited due to a salary dispute.
"Scream 7" also brought back a number of fan-favorite characters who died in earlier "Scream" movies, including Lillard's Stu Macher, one of the Ghostface killers from the 1996 original. Lillard had spent many years campaigning for Stu to be brought back, arguing the character could still be alive.
"Scream 7" ultimately received the worst reviews in the horror franchise's history, though it was the series' highest-grossing entry at the box office.
Lillard's comments were the first instance of a star associated with "Scream 7" voicing regret over their involvement in the movie due to Barrera's firing.
In May, Barrera, in an interview with Variety, slammed the cast of the film. When the Variety reporter asked if it felt like the stars of the movie were crossing a picket line after her firing, she replied, "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," she added.
Prior to her death, Hayden Panettiere, who starred with Barrera in "Scream VI," defended the actress and denounced her firing. In a 2024 interview with The Messenger, Panettiere called Barrera's removal "very unfair and upsetting" and said she had reached out to her former costar. "She was hurt by it, but I think she took it in stride and was very, very gracious about it."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew Lillard regrets 'Scream 7' return after Melissa Barrera firing
