Christopher Landon is revealing where he landed amid the “Scream VII” controversies in 2023. The director of the new thriller “Drop” told Vanity Fair that he and his family endured death threats and “abuse” after “Scream” franchise actress Melissa Barrera was fired by production company Spyglass for her pro-Palestine comments. According to Landon, fans conflated Spyglass’ decision with his own personal politics; at the time, Landon wrote on Twitter in a since-deleted statement about Barrera’s firing, “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”

After Barrera was let go, her “Scream” co-star Jenna Ortega decided to leave the franchise as well. It was originally reported that “Scream VII” conflicted with Ortega’s “Wednesday” Season 2 shoot after the SAG-AFTRA strikes; Ortega recently clarified to The Cut that her exit had “nothing to do with pay or scheduling” and it was Barrera’s firing that was the reason for her decision to leave.