Melissa Barrera dropped from Scream 7 following social media posts
The star has appeared in the most recent two films of the iconic horror franchise.
Melissa Barrera has been dropped from Scream 7 after sharing a series of Instagram posts about the Israel-Hamas war.
The actor joined the iconic horror franchise in 2022, appearing in its fifth and sixth films alongside Jenna Ortega.
While there had been no official word on the cast of Scream 7 yet, Barrera had been expected to reprise her role as Sam Carpenter, the older sister of Tara Carpenter (Ortega).
Why was Melissa Barrera fired from Scream 7?
On Tuesday (21st November), a spokesperson for Spyglass, the studio behind the Scream films, explained in a statement to Variety that Barrera has been dropped from Scream 7.
"Spyglass's 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 statement read.
In one Instagram post, Barrera wrote, "Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself," adding, "We don’t need more hate. No Islamophobia. No Anti-semitism [sic]."
Other posts shared by Barrera included claims that Gaza was "currently being treated like a concentration camp".
Barrera has since broken her silence on the studio's decision, insisting: "Silence is not an option for me."
In a statement shared on her Instagram Stories, Barrera said: "First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.
"As a Latina, 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,” the statement continued.
“Every person on this earth- regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status- deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom."
She continued: "I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism. I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom."
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Scream 7 director Christopher Landon broke his silence on Barrera’s firing from the film on Tuesday 21st November.
He responded to the news with a now-deleted post on X, which was recently re-branded from Twitter, along with a broken heart emoji: "This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make."
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