Melissa Barrera fired from Scream 7 over social media posts criticising Israel amid ongoing conflict with Hamas
22 November 2023, 12:34
Melissa Barrera has been fired from Scream 7 over social media posts criticising Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
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The 33-year-old has shared several posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict since Hamas' initial attack on October 7.
She reshared posts on her Instagram stories accusing Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing" and referring to it as a "colonised land".
"Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp," one cited by the Hollywood Reporter said.
It added: "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."
She also reshared a post about distorting the Holocaust "to boost the Israeli arms industry".
In a statement to Variety, a spokesman for Scream's production company, Spyglass, said its stance was "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," it said.
Christopher Landon, who is set to direct the seventh instalment, appeared to reference the incident online, saying: "Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make."
Barrera is yet to comment, but before her departure was announced, she shared a quote on her Instagram story which read: "At the end of the day, I'd rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude."
Some of her followers interpreted it as her referencing being fired.
The Scream franchise was rebooted in 2022, with Barrera playing Sam Carpenter in the films, alongside Jenna Ortega as her sister.
The latest films also saw the return of Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell in their original roles.
It comes after Susan Sarandon was dropped by Hollywood talent agency UTA after she attended a pro-Palestinian rally.
