Jenna Ortega shared her thoughts with Vanity Fair on the intersection of Hollywood and politics, specifically how actors’ need to be politically correct often leads to them losing their integrity. The actress left the “Scream” franchise last year a day after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired over social media posts about Israel and Palestine. Ortega cited scheduling conflicts as the reason for her departure.
“The business we’re in is very sensitive,” Ortega told Vanity Fair of Hollywood. “Everyone wants to be politically correct, but I feel that in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty.”
“I wish we had a better sense of dialogue,” she continued. “Imagine if everyone could say what they feel without being judged for it, and if so, it would spark a discussion, not an argument.”
“Am I describing world peace?” she asked herself then in a more cheerful tone.
Barrera was fired from “Scream 7” over her social media posts in support of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. “Scream’s” production company, Spyglass Media Group, said in a statement: diverse At the time: “Spyglass’ position is unequivocal: We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, distortion of the Holocaust, or anything that blatantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
Barrera had published a post accusing Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” and reposted an excerpt from Jewish Currents magazine about distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.”
In the wake of Barrera and Ortega’s exits, “Scream 7” has been renewed, bringing back veteran star Neve Campbell to helm the film. Ortega’s work on the franchise will continue with the upcoming “Beetlejuice,” a long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice,” which hits theaters September 6 from Warner Bros. following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Visit Vanity Fair to read Ortega's full cover story.
