Protesters gathered outside of Wednesday night’s “Scream 7” premiere at the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles, calling for a boycott of the horror film in a show of support for Palestine.

About 25 demonstrators were seen positioned around the lot with flags, drums and bullhorns. They were heard chanting phrases like “Paramount, Paramount, what do you say?” and “Palestine will live forever!”

While speaking on the red carpet, “Scream 7” director Kevin Williamson shared his thoughts on the protest.

“We live in a world where a lot of bad things are happening out there, and I think a lot of people want to be heard and they want to have their voice heard about the bad stuff that’s happening,” Williamson told Variety. “My heart goes out to them. I don’t know if canceling Paramount+ is the way to do it. But I think people should listen to their inner self and do what feels good for them.”

The outrage follows the firing of Melissa Barrera, the star of 2022’s “Scream” reboot and 2023’s “Scream VI.” After war broke out in Gaza in 2023, Barrera took to Instagram to share her views on the conflict. She was largely critical of Israel, and she accused the nation of “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” She also shared a post from Jewish Currents Magazine about distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.” She was fired from the franchise by “Scream” producer Spyglass Media Group because they deemed her posts to be antisemitic.

“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,” a Spyglass spokesperson told Variety at the time.

Jenna Ortega, who also starred in “Scream” and “Scream VI,” also exited the seventh installment, citing scheduling conflicts. Shortly after, the original director, Christopher Landon parted ways with the film because he received death threats over Barrera’s axing (even though it wasn’t his decision to fire her). With those behind-the-scenes changes, the script had to be rewritten, and Neve Campbell’s original heroine, Sidney Prescott, was brought back after sitting out the sixth entry due to a salary dispute. Williamson, who wrote the first “Scream” movie, took over as director.

“Scream 7,” which opens in theaters on Friday, follows Campbell’s Prescott as she relocates out of Woodsboro for a quiet life with her daughter, only to have Ghostface track her down and target her family. Campbell stars alongside fellow original cast members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Matthew Lillard, as well as Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale and Mckenna Grace.