Jenna Ortega shared her thoughts to Vanity Fair about the intersection of Hollywood and politics, mainly how the need for actors to be politically correct often contributes to their loss of integrity. The actor left the “Scream” franchise last year one day after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired due to social media posts about Israel and Palestine. Ortega cited scheduling conflicts as the reason for her departure.
“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely,” Ortega told Vanity Fair about Hollywood. “Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty.”
“I wish that we had a better sense of conversation,” she continued. “Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument.”
“Am I describing world peace?” she then asked herself on a lighter note.
Barrera was fired from “Scream 7” due to her social media posts supporting Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. “Scream” producer Spyglass Media Group said in a statement to Variety at the time: “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 had shared one post that accused 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 exit, “Scream 7” was overhauled and brought back longtime franchise star Neve Campbell to lead the movie. Ortega’s franchise work will continue with the upcoming “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Tim Burton’s long-awaited “Beetlejuice” sequel opening in theater Sept. 6 from Warner Bros. after a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
Head over to Vanity Fair’s website to read Ortega’s cover story in its entirety.
