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Mexican actress Melissa Barrera of Scream fame recently made headlines after being dropped from the franchise’s upcoming movie, Scream VII. The move came in the wake of the actress’ recent social media remarks about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Here’s what she wrote on one of her Instagram stories:
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity, no water… People have learnt nothing from our histories.”
Following her statement, Spyglass, the production company behind the Scream franchise, reportedly fired Melissa Barrera.
It is noteworthy that earlier, on her Instagram stories, Melissa pointed out that “Just like all Palestinians are NOT Hamas, All Jewish people are NOT the Israeli Govt.” She also urged people not to blame or hate all Jewish people because of the violent actions of some.
Fans unite to support Melissa Barrera after she was dropped from Scream VII
Melissa Barrera, the star of the Scream franchise has officially been dropped after she recently took to her Instagram story and protested against Israel’s attack on Palestine.
She stated that Gaza has been turned into a “concentration camp” just like that in the Holocaust, where innocent civilians did not have access to basic amenities including electricity and water. She further added how humanity had learned nothing from its history:
"And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING,” Melissa Barrera wrote.
Following her statement, one of Spyglass’ spokespersons issued a statement justifying her termination. Here’s what they told Variety:
“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.”
According to Variety, Spyglass’ decision to drop her did not depend on a single post, but also on another recent Instagram story which said:
“Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.”
She also called Israel a “colonized” land and insinuated that “the Jews control the media.”
As soon as Barrera was dropped from the horror movie Scream VII, fans united to support her online, with #JusticeForMelissaBarrera now trending on X (formerly Twitter).
In the wake of her sudden exit, Barrera, who has been showing solidarity for Palestine since the October 7 attacks, once again took to her Instagram story and posted:
“At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.”
Christopher Landon, the director of Scream VII also took to X on Tuesday to share his opinions on the matter:
“This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
For those uninitiated, the 33-year-old Melissa Barrera previously starred in the role of Sam Carpenter in the 2022 Scream, followed by Scream VI in March 2023 – both of which were commercial successes.
While Christopher Landon of Happy Death Day fame will direct Scream VII, Spyglass will produce it, and Paramount will handle its global distribution. The film has not yet begun filming because of the recently ended SAG-AFTRA strike and is in the pre-production stage.
