Melissa Barrera has opened up about being fired from Scream 7 for posting pro-Palestine messages on social media last year.
In November 2023, Melissa Barerra – who plays Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream and sequel Scream VI – was dropped from the upcoming seventh instalment after writing an Instagram post in support of Palestine earlier this week.
In a post on her Instagram Stories, the Mexican-born actor wrote: “I too come from a colonized country. Palestine WILL be free. They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” In another post, she added: “Gaza is currently 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 our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Barrera recently spoke to Rolling Stone to promote her new film Your Monster while at Sundance, and also spoke of her firing from the Scream gig. When asked how she felt about the situation, the actor said: “I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking. I don’t even know what to say. I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial.”
She continued: “It shouldn’t be up for debate. So, I’m very at peace. The people who know me in my family know the truth about me and where I stand, and I think most people in the world also do.”
She went on to explain: “It’s for the well-being of both sides of that wall, you know? An end to the violence. That’s it. An end to the violence for everyone’s peace and security. Just… humanity.”
Elsewhere in her chat with Rolling Stone, Barrera spoke of Jenna Ortega, who similarly exited the project a week after her firing. While it was later revealed that Ortega had already been planning to leave the Scream franchise prior to Barrera’s abrupt firing, Barrera said of her former co-star: “Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She’s a good person and we love each other. She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what.”
Back in December, Scream 7‘s director Christopher Landon confirmed he left work on the project. The Happy Death Day director was announced to be helming the seventh instalment in August, which would have marked his debut in the Scream franchise.
It was also reported that Spyglass was looking to bring Neve Campbell back into the franchise after she had previously stepped down from the franchise around the time of Scream VI following a pay dispute, with many of her co-stars supporting her decision.