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Fallout from the Israeli-Hamas conflict over Gaza has left its mark in the entertainment industry, with Melissa Barrera being one of the prime casualties. Barrera, one of the stars of Scream 7, was fired from her role in November over pro-Palestinian comments the outspoken performer made on social media.
Her posting read in part: “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.”
But at Sundance this week, Barrera said the brouhaha over her postings has become a “big awakening” for which she is grateful. She was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “Honestly, I think I finally am becoming who I’m supposed to be in life, and the last few months have been a big awakening of that. I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happened.”
Barrera defended her comments on the situation in Gaza, saying: “As a [L]atina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need.”
Shortly after Barrera’s comments were posted, Scream’s producer Spyglass Media declared that “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,” which could be interpreted as a rebuff to her remarks.
The very next day it was disclosed that Barrera’s co-star Jenna Ortega and Scream’s director Christopher Landon would also be departing, raising speculation about the future of the franchise. Neve Campbell had also left the franchise over a pay dispute, as was Ortega. Landon, who had only recently replaced the Radio Silence collective as the director, was quoted as saying it was “a dream job that turned into a nightmare.”
Recalling a reunion she recently had with the cast members of Scream, Barrera was quoted in Deadline as saying, “We’re family for life. If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at that event.”
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