Scream star Melissa Barrera was fired from the horror franchise due to her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war. Variety reports that the actress, who played Sam Carpenter in the fifth and sixth films, has frequently expressed support for Palestine (where over 12,000 people have been killed since early October) on Instagram; she was also among hundreds of actors, writers, and performers who signed an open letter to President Joe Biden calling for a ceasefire.
The Los Angeles Times has more:
In the last 20 hours or so, Barrera has shared videos on her Instagram, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people. Barrera has shared posts urging the public to call their representatives in support of a cease-fire… One post she shared from another Instagram account declares: “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.”
In response to Barrera’s firing, Scream VII director Christopher Landon wrote, “This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” The post has since been deleted on X.
Variety reports that Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind Scream, “initially declined comment,” but “a spokesperson offered a statement later in the afternoon to clarify that the actor was fired because her posts were seen as antisemitic.” The statement reads, “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.”
The seventh film in the Scream series — which is now down two leads after Neve Campbell didn’t get the salary she deserves — does not have a release date.
(Via Variety and the Los Angeles Times)
