The horror genre's renaissance has been showing no signs of slowing down, to the joy of fans like me. Some of the best horror movies have returned with new sequels recently, including Wes Craven's Scream. Courteney Cox is the only actor who has appeared in every single movie of the franchise (streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), and yes, she knows how bad her infamous Scream 3 bangs are.
Scream 7 broke box office records, and is officially the highest grossing movie of the beloved horror franchise. It seems like the movie's promotional campaign paid off, and during that time Cox appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In a clip from the show's Instagram, she admitted blame for Gale's infamous bangs from the threequel, saying:
The bangs were my choice, it's not the way they came out. I only had on set of bangs and they were... ok.
Well, at least she's not honest. For better or worse Cox's bangs in Scream 3 are truly iconic, although they've been the butt of countless jokes in the decades since the movie's 2000 release. But the Friends star has a good sense of humor about it; Cox even rocked those microbangs during Halloween a few years ago. And she also took responsibility for their inception on the slasher sequel.
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While speaking to Jimmy Fallon about Scream 7, the late night host and SNL alum was sure to gas Courteney Cox up and tell her that with her beautiful face she can rock any hair cut. She quickly responded to this bit of flattery, saying honestly:
No I can't.
In previous interviews, David Arquette took responsibility for the Scream 3 bangs. He claimed he encouraged his ex and co-star to go with a "Bettie Page" look, which is where the microbangs came in. Unfortunately that bold hairdo hasn't aged well in the years that have passed.
In the interview Jimmy Kimmel put on a wig with those bangs, giving him the look Gale Weathers rocked in the third Scream movie. But Cox didn't back down, going so far as to claim that:
That is the worst hairdo.
They say any press is good press, and the discourse surrounding Gale's hair in Scream 3 has lasted over two decades at this point. Courteney Cox is one of the most iconic scream queen of all time... regardless of what her hair looks like in the slasher franchise. We'll just have to wait and see if an eighth movie is green lit and what Gale looks like in it.
Scream 7 is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Given how much money its made another sequel seems inevitable, but we'll have to wait and hear from Paramount one way or another.
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