Scream actor says acting offers went quiet for ‘months’ after she was fired over social media posts
Melissa Barrera says she stopped receiving acting offers after being fired from Scream over her views on Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The actor’s exit from the horror franchise is back in the news ahead of the release of Scream 7, a film which cost production company Spyglass hundreds of thousands in rewrites to a change in cast and direction.
Barrera was axed from the film after she spoke about the civilian casualties caused by Israel’s war against Hamas, writing on her Instagram story: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.
“Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water. People have learnt nothing from our histories… Just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Spyglass would later release a statement calling Barrera’s comments ‘hate speech’ and accused the Mexican actor of making anti semitic comments.
Barrera would later reflect on the fallout of her firing in an interview with The Independent, revealing she went close to a year without receiving any job offers after the incident.
“It was quiet for, like, 10 months,” she recalled. “It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything. There were times where I felt like my life was over.”
The 35-year-old went on to explain that she received offers for small roles ‘here and there’ adding: “I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, like, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything’.”
Barrera previously rejected allegations of antisemitism made after her firing, releasing a statement on Instagram condemning ‘hate and prejudice of any kind’.
“First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,” she wrote.
Addressing her criticism of the Israeli government, she added: “I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism.”
The decision to fire Barrera would also led to the departure of Wednesday star Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon, meaning the studio ultimately forked out $500,000 (£371,144) to replace the In the Heights actor with Neve Campbell, who reprised her role as Sidney Prescott.
Barrera’s axing has proven to be divisive amongst fans of the franchise, with the film’s Los Angeles premiere drawing in numerous protesters in support of Barrera and Palestine.
The controversy has drawn more unwanted attention to the film, which has debuted to mixed reviews from critics. Scream 7 currently sits at 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety describing the film as ‘basic’ while The Hollywood Reporter said the franchise ‘is dead creatively if certainly not commercially’.