Mexican actor Melissa Barrera, known for her roles in the fifth and sixth installments of the 'Scream' franchise, has reportedly been terminated from 'Scream VII' due to her Instagram posts concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict. The 33-year-old actress had joined the iconic slasher series in 2022 alongside Jenna Ortega. Sources confirmed on Tuesday (21 November) that Spyglass Media dropped Barrera from the forthcoming sequel over her Israel-Hamas war posts perceived as anti-Semitic. This unexpected departure comes after Barrera's involvement in the successful revival of the 'Scream' franchise, marking a significant change in the cast dynamics for the upcoming installment.
According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the actress, 33, will no longer appear in the horror franchise's upcoming seventh film.
"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 told Variety.
As per People, in one written message from her Instagram Story quoted in the report and circulating social media after the news, Barrera allegedly wrote, "I have been actively looking for videos and information about the Palestinian side for the last 2 weeks or so, following accounts etc. Why? Because Western media only shows the other side. Why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself."
Barrera played Sam Carpenter in both Scream 2022 and Scream VI this year. Her character was introduced as the daughter of Scream villain Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). As the new franchise lead, the character was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott.
Barrera's Sam is older sister to Tera, played by Jenna Ortega.
Along with Barrera and Ortega, the Scream VI cast included Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, and Hayden Panettiere from Scream IV. (While Neve Campbell and David Arquette appeared in the fifth Scream, Campbell did not return for the sixth due to a contractual issue.)
The seventh Scream is set to be directed by Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon. Landon is taking over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett after their co-directing roles in both Scream (2022) and Scream VI, reported People.
Tom Cruise Intervened To Prevent Agent's Firing Amid Social Media Controversy
The news comes at a time when Hollywood icon Tom Cruise personally intervened to show support for Maha Dakhil, who was relieved of the leadership role at talent agency named Creative Artists Agency (CAA) after sharing pro-Palestine posts on Instagram. According to Variety, Mr Cruise met with Ms Dakhil at her office last week. The outlet quoted sources as saying that Tom "took the rare step of going in person to show support for his embattled agent".
Ms Dakhil was slammed for her posts last month in which she spoke in favour of Palestine. "What's more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening," she had said in one of the posts. Facing backlash from users, Ms Dakhil resigned from the agency's board.
She later deleted the photo from her Instagram handle and issued a public apology. "I made a mistake with a repost in my Instagram Story, which used hurtful language. Like so many of us, I have been reeling with heartbreak. I pride myself on being on the side of humanity and peace," Ms Dakhil said in a statement to Variety.
