Mikey Madison says ‘Scream’ fans approach her in public “mad” about her character: “I’m so sorry”

She played Amber Freeman in the 2022 'Scream' reboot

Scream star actor Mikey Madison has revealed that fans were “mad” at her after she killed a major character off in the franchise.

• READ MORE: Here’s when ‘Scream 7’ is coming out

Madison, who portrayed Amber Freeman and was revealed as Ghostface in the 2022 Scream reboot, told Collider when she killed the long running bumbling police deputy Dewey, played by David Arquette, fans were not happy.

“I have to be honest, when I did the film, it sounds naive, but I wasn’t so aware of the huge fan base that the franchise has, that I’ve now been able to discover,” Madison said. “Scream and horror fans and people who love horror films are the best people ever, but I really naively went into it.”

She continued: “I remember being kind of sad because I was like, ‘Oh, such a great character. It’ll be sad to see him (Dewey) go.’ And then I realised afterward the heartbreak that so many people felt.

“People have come up to me, and they’re like, ‘I hate that this happened. I’m mad at you.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t write the script!’ I didn’t want to do it.”

When she was originally told that her character would be the film’s Ghostface, Madison thought it sounded “really fun”.

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She said at the time: “I would absolutely like to do that. I specifically would love to play this Ghostface character because it’s such an interesting, fun reveal and it’s such a crazy, unpredictable arc for a character, as well.”

Meanwhile, Isabel May was recently announced as Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) daughter in the forthcoming Scream 7.

The sequel was recently confirmed for a February 27, 2026 release date. Directing the upcoming film will be the franchise’s creator Kevin Williamson.

Melissa Barrera led Scream 5 and 6, but was fired from Scream 7 last year after posting on Instagram in support of Palestine. Co-lead Jenna Ortega also announced she would not be returning due to other scheduling commitments.

At the time, Campbell – who had appeared in the first five Scream films – had distanced herself from the franchise after missing last year’s Scream 6 due to “pay discrepancies”.

Following Barrera’s firing, Campbell was then offered the lead role once again and agreed to return after “the studio heard me when I talked about pay discrepancy and when I talked about [Scream 6 negotiations] not feeling respectful”.

Barrera has since revealed that after her firing, she experienced a drought in job offers.

She added: “It was quiet for, like, 10 months. I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, like, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything’.”