The drama surrounding Melissa Barrera’s sudden firing from the lead role in Scream VII hasn’t stopped since Spyglass, the company behind the long-running horror franchise, dropped the actor following her outspoken support for Gaza in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas War. Now, it seems that the incoming director of Scream VII is washing his hands of the decision.

Christopher Landon, who is directing the horror sequel, posted a brief statement on social media in the wake of Barrera’s firing. It simply read “[Broken Heart emoji] Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” Shortly after, he deleted the post but not before several quick-clicking fans got screenshots of it.

Landon’s response certainly makes it seem like he disagrees with the decision to fire Barrera, who had starred in the two most recent entries in the Scream franchise and was due to reprise her role in the upcoming sequel, though he stops short of publicly defending her at this time. If nothing else, he is content to let Spyglass take the brunt of the backlash from fans as the Israeli-Hamas War continues to be a divisive issue among people around the world.

The next entry in the Scream franchise is still in the very early stages of production due to the strikes that brought Hollywood to a standstill earlier this year. No filming had been done and it seems like the team will need to go back to the drawing board now that their star is no longer on the project.

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