Melissa Barrera was fired from the upcoming film Scream VII by film production company Spyglass over critical social media posts about Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas.
The Monterrey, Mexico-born actress, 33, was “quietly” dropped from the horror film’s cast, a source told Variety on Tuesday, due to several posts she made since the Supernova music festival was stormed by Hamas militants on October 7th and the start of the ongoing military operations conflict.
Barrera, who played the role of Sam Carpenter in “Scream VI” and last year’s “Scream VI,” had called Israel a “colonized” country and posted content that had an anti-Semitic tone regarding Jewish people’s control of the media contained.
Barrera, who has also appeared in films such as “In the Heights,” “Carmen” and the upcoming “Bed Rest,” released a statement saying, “Western media only shows this.” [Israeli] Page. I’ll let you explain why they do this.’
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barrera said in another Instagram Stories post that “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.”
The Latest: Melissa Barrera, 33, was fired from the upcoming film Scream VII by film production company Spyglass over critical social media posts about Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas. Pictured in LA last April
Barrera played the role of Sam Carpenter in this year’s Scream VI and last year’s Scream
She added: “Everyone cornered with no where to go, no electricity, no water… People have learned nothing from our history.”
“And just like in our history, people are still silently watching everything happen. ‘This is genocide and ethnic cleansing.’
Barrera posted a series of war-related clips to her Instagram Stories on Monday, including footage of American-Israeli forces in Gaza; Ceasefire demonstrations in Philadelphia; and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib called for an immediate ceasefire.
Barrera played key roles in both successful horror films, as 2022’s Scream earned $137.7 million in worldwide box office receipts, while Scream V, which hit theaters last March, earned a worldwide total of $168.9 million achieved.
A number of Barerra’s fans chimed in in the comments section of a post she made on September 16, offering her support when news of her failed Scream role broke.
One fan said: “We stand with you queen and we will boycott Scream 7.”
Another fan remarked, “Thank you for being brave enough to take care of this! I know I and others will continue to support you!”
One fan said: “Please tell me it’s not true that you were fired from Scream VII? ‘How could they let you go because you called for a ceasefire?’
Christopher Landon is set to direct the film, which has not yet begun production, THR reported. Paramount will distribute the film.
Barrera had described Israel as a “colonized” country in one of her posts
Barrera posted content that contained an anti-Semitic tone regarding media control
Barrera posted a series of war-related clips to her Instagram Stories on Monday, including footage of American-Israeli forces in Gaza
A number of Barerra’s fans chimed in in the comments section of a post she made on September 16, offering her support when news of her failed Scream role broke
The film’s development was “slow given the actors and writers’ strikes,” the newspaper said.
has reached out to Barerra and Spyglass representatives for further comment on the story.
But shortly after the news that Melissa was no longer part of the project, Spyglass Media Group issued a statement saying that the company had “zero tolerance for anti-Semitism,” according to Variety.
A spokesman told the media that Spyglass’s stance is clear: We have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that obviously crosses the line to hate speech.’