Melissa Barrera won’t be back for the next Scream sequel. The actor was dropped from the project after a series of social media posts about atrocities committed in Gaza.
The actress, 33, according to reports from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, will no longer star in the horror franchise’s upcoming seventh installment due to her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote in one post on Instagram stories. “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 & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Melissa Barrera has been fired from the “Scream” movie franchise over sharing posts about #Gaza being “treated like a concentration camp”.
“Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like… pic.twitter.com/rnCrstoGq5
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 22, 2023
Variety reported that insiders viewed Barrera’s comments as antisemitic.
Also read: Why are celebrities getting canceled over pro-Palestine views?
“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,” Spyglass, the studio behind Scream VII, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
Barrera had previously spoken out against antisemitism. “It is important for me to clarify that when I say Free Palestine,” she posted on Instagram on Oct. 27, “I do not in any way mean: Kill all Jews.” She added that she wanted freedom and safety for Palestines and Jews around the world.
That is crazy this artist is fired for stating facts . Food water electricity was cut – Gaza is in ruins –
The word Genocide is bring used by international orgs https://t.co/MPsbAIRGXj— John Cusack (@johncusack) November 22, 2023
Barrera helped revitalize the franchise with Scream, the 2022 feature that earned $137.7 million globally and combined generations of castmembers from the franchise. Barrera’s Sam Carpenter was the lead of that film, and the older sister of Jenna Ortega’s Tera. Barrera also starred in Scream VI, which was released in March and topped $168.9 million at the global box office.
Also read: Talent agency drops Susan Sarandon over Israel criticism
Earlier on Tuesday, news broke that actor Susan Sarandon had been dropped by talent agency UTA following comments at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City on Nov. 17.
