Melissa Barrera ‘fired’ from Scream 7 over social media posts on Israel-Hamas conflict
Scream 7 #Scream7
Melissa Barrera has been reportedly fired from the Scream 7 film over social media posts criticising the Israel-Hamas war.
The Mexico-born actress, 33, joined the slasher franchise in 2022, playing lead Sam Carpenter in its fifth and sixth films alongside Jenna Ortega.
On Tuesday, it was reported by Variety and Deadline that the star had been “quietly dropped” from Spyglass Media’s upcoming sequel over her Instagram posts, which have been perceived as antisemitic.
In one post, Barrera had labeled Israel as a “colonized” land and then posted content supposedly containing an antisemitic trope of Jewish people controlling the media.
According to Variety, she wrote in one Instagram Story: “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.”
The Hollywood Reporter reported that she penned in another: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.
Barrera plays Sam Carpenter in the slasher flicks (Paramount Pictures)
“Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories.
“And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE AND ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
A Spyglass spokesperson 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.”
The Standard has contacted Spyglass Media and Melissa Barrera’s representatives for comment.
Although there had been no casting confirmations announced yet, it was expected that Barrera would reprise her role in Scream 7. She has also appeared in films such as In the Heights, Carmen and the upcoming Bed Rest.
It comes as it was reported that Susan Sarandon had been dropped by her talent agency UTA for comments she made at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City last Friday.
The 77-year-old reportedly said at the protest: “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.”