Melissa Barrera continues to open up about her firing from the “Scream” franchise. The actor played Sam Carpenter, the daughter of Billy Loomis, in 2022’s “Scream” and 2023’s “Scream 6,” the latter of which set a franchise box office record with $108 million at the domestic box office. She was supposed to continue playing the character in the upcoming “Scream 7,” but shewas fired last Novemberafter social media posts about Palestine that Spyglass, the studio behind “Scream,” interpreted as antisemitic.
Barrera previously told the Associated Pressthat “the last few months have been a big awakening” and “I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happened.” Now she’s told Rolling Stone that the Palestine posts that led to her firing “shouldn’t be controversial,” as she was just advocating for human rights.
When Spyglass confirmed Barrera’s firing, it issued a statement in which it said the studio has “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.”
“I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking,” Barrera told Rolling Stone when the publication brought up Spyglass accusing her of “Holocaust distortion.” “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. 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.”
Barrera stressed that all she was asking for was a ceasefire in Gaza, which is “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.” She has continued to speak out in support of a ceasefire, recently joining a pro-Palestine march while attending the Sundance Film Festival to premiere her movie “Your Monster.”
Barrera’s exit from the franchise was followed by her co-star Jenna Ortega leaving the next sequel and “Scream 7” director Christopher Landon also dropping out of the film. It was reported that Ortega’a decision was made prior to Barrera’s firing.
“Listen, Jenna is a good egg,” Barrera told Rolling Stone. “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.”
Landon wrote on social media when announcing his exit that directing “Scream 7” was “a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.”
