Anna Faris reveals Melania Trump joke cut from 'Scary Movie 6'
Synopsis
Anna Faris filmed a pointed riff on Melania Trump's 'Be Best' campaign for 'Scary Movie 6' — and it ended up on the cutting-room floor. The actress, back as Cindy Campbell after two decades, reveals she deliberately played the character as 'classic MAGA', offering a rare glimpse into what the franchise's revival was willing to attempt, and what it ultimately pulled back from.
Key Takeaways
Anna Faris revealed a joke referencing Melania Trump's 2018 Be Best campaign was cut from 'Scary Movie 6' .
Faris, 49 , returns as Cindy Campbell after a gap of over two decades from the franchise.
She told Dexerto she intentionally shaped Cindy as a 'classic MAGA' character.
Marlon Wayans co-created the franchise and reportedly called Faris in the voice of Ghostface to recruit her back.
Wayans stated nothing was left out of the film due to fear, though the Melania joke did not make the final cut.
Hollywood actress Anna Faris has revealed that a joke referencing Melania Trump's 2018 Be Best anti-cyberbullying campaign was filmed for 'Scary Movie 6' but ultimately did not make the final cut. The disclosure sheds light on how Faris shaped her returning character, Cindy Campbell, as a deliberate political archetype in the long-running horror-comedy franchise.
The Deleted Joke
Speaking to Dexerto, Faris described the scrapped scene in detail. 'I was always pushing for Cindy to be classic MAGA rabbit hole. The kind of person that you saw outside of the Walmart during quarantine, that was raising some kind of crazy ass fuss. There was a moment where I'm getting just wasted, just so drunk, I'm in my truck, of course, and I look into the rearview mirror and I say, ‘Be best, Cindy Campbell. Be best’. That didn’t make it, but I liked my little winking there,' she said.
The reference was to Melania Trump's Be Best initiative, launched in 2018, which focused on children's wellbeing and online safety. The scene was ultimately removed from the final version of the film.
Faris on Playing Cindy as 'Classic MAGA'
Faris, 49, explained that she deliberately leaned into a politically charged characterisation for her return to the franchise after a two-decade gap. She described the creative freedom that comes with playing Cindy as liberating, noting that the film's deliberately provocative nature gave her room to push boundaries. 'You know, what are you gonna do? You gonna be mad at Cindy? I’m in a movie that is truly the most offensive movie ever made, and I’m the lead of it. And I participate in offensive ideas. I think I can kind of do anything. It liberated me,' she said.
A Long-Awaited Return to the Franchise
Faris had a breakout role as Cindy Campbell in the original 2000 'Scary Movie', and went on to appear in the 2001, 2003, and 2006 sequels before missing the fifth instalment in 2013. She had previously admitted to being uncertain about reprising the role. In an interview with AMC Theatres, she said, 'I thought if I were to return to Scary Movie, it would be a cameo, I would feel sad, I would definitely feel like an ageing actress in an ageing world. But when Marlon called me, and he was like, ‘The gang are back together!’'
According to reports, 'Scary Movie' co-creator Marlon Wayans reportedly called Faris using the voice of franchise villain Ghostface, prompting her to immediately improvise. Marlon and his brother Shawn Wayans co-wrote and starred in the original 'Scary Movie' and its first sequel.
Wayans on Creative Limits
In the same interview, Marlon Wayans insisted that no material was held back out of fear. 'Nothing didn’t get put in because we were afraid to put it in,' he said, underscoring the franchise's signature no-holds-barred approach. The deleted Melania joke, it appears, was an exception — cut for reasons that have not been publicly detailed.
With the core cast reassembled and Wayans at the helm, 'Scary Movie 6' is positioned as a full revival of the spoof series, with its creative team signalling that the film will not shy away from contemporary cultural and political targets.
Point of View
And it happened to fall at a sitting First Lady. Whether that was a legal call, a distribution calculation, or a directorial choice remains unexplained — and that silence is arguably more interesting than the joke itself. Faris's framing of Cindy as 'classic MAGA' also signals that the revival is leaning into the culture-war comedy space that has proven both lucrative and divisive for mainstream Hollywood. The question is whether the final film commits to that framing or hedges it, as this deleted scene suggests it may have done at least once.
NationPress
8 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What Melania Trump joke did Anna Faris film for 'Scary Movie 6'?
Faris filmed a scene in which her character, Cindy Campbell, drunkenly looks into a rearview mirror and says 'Be best, Cindy Campbell. Be best' — a direct reference to Melania Trump's 2018 Be Best anti-cyberbullying campaign. The scene was cut from the final version of the film.
Why did Anna Faris return to 'Scary Movie' after 20 years?
Faris said she was persuaded to return after co-creator Marlon Wayans personally called her and told her 'the gang are back together.' She had previously appeared in the 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2006 instalments before skipping the fifth film in 2013.
How did Anna Faris approach the character of Cindy Campbell in 'Scary Movie 6'?
Faris said she pushed for Cindy to be portrayed as a 'classic MAGA' type, describing the character as someone who would cause a scene outside a Walmart during quarantine. She said the franchise's provocative nature gave her creative freedom she found liberating.
Who created 'Scary Movie' and is involved in the sixth film?
The 'Scary Movie' franchise was co-created by brothers Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans, who co-wrote and starred in the first two films. Marlon Wayans is involved in 'Scary Movie 6', and stated that nothing was excluded from the film out of fear.
Was anything else cut from 'Scary Movie 6' for being too controversial?
Only the Melania Trump 'Be Best' joke has been publicly identified as a cut scene so far. Marlon Wayans stated in interviews that nothing was left out of the film because the team was afraid to include it, making the deletion of Faris's joke notable by contrast.
