Actresshas been fired from her role in the upcoming Scream VII after she publicly accused Israel of committing genocide.
In a post on her Instagram stories, Barrera not only referred to Gaza as a “concentration camp” but also accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” in its war against Hamas in retaliation for the horrific October 7 terrorist attack, which claimed 1,400 lives, most of whom were civilians.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote. “Cornering everyone together, with nowhere 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.”
As noted by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Barrera helped usher the Scream franchise into a new generation with the 2022 feature that “earned $137.7 million globally and combined generations of cast members from the franchise.”
File/This image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Devyn Nekoda and Melissa Barrera in a scene from “Scream VI.” (Philippe Bossé/Paramount Pictures via AP)
“Barrera’s Sam Carpenter was the lead of that film, and the older sister of Jenna Ortega’s Tera. Barrera also starred in Scream VI, which was released in March and topped $168.9 million at the global box office,” added THR.
Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), who will be helming the new installment, released a statement in response to her firing, insisting he had nothing to do with it.
“Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make,” Landon said.
Spyglass, the company behind the film, issued a strongly-worded denunciation of Barrera’s original post.
“Spyglass’ stance is 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,” a Spyglass spokesperson tells Variety.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
